Arts and Crafts

The United States shed approximately 2.6 million jobs in 2008, per a report released last week. Given a population of approximately 300 million people, with approximately 75% over 18, any number of retirees, this is quite a drastic figure. Perhaps 200 million (?) are of working age, with many choosing not to work. Eliminate those in prison (just over 2 million), the disabled (tongue in cheek), the permanently homeless, and so on, the loss of jobs become substantially more impressive.

Clearly the economy is on a downward trajectory. With unemployment rising and the demand for goods faltering, there seems to be little hope of a quick recovery.

Question; will this loss in jobs result in a sharp reduction in the amounts of goods produced or services offered. Will food and basic goods would become scarcer and more expensive with grocery stores becoming barren emulations those of the former Soviet Union, circa 1991.

So far, the decrease in demand hasn't led to a decreased supply. Products appear readily available and simply scream for our attention on shelves. Simply put, there are more flavors of potato chips than ever before, and this doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. Taco Bell's $.89, 800 calorie burritos await your order (and are, well, simply delicious).

It is estimated that 1-2% of the current United States population live on farms (about the same number in prison), compared to just over 20% in the 1930's. The United States is the third largest food exporter in the world (passed last year by China) and food yields have consistently risen during the past 100 years. The rise in efficiency of farming methods (and the quantiy of chemicals pumped into the ground) is quite astonishing.

Let's take a moment to summarize. Unemployment has risen at an alarming rate last year. The long-term trend has been a decrease in the number of farmers, yet an increase in yield. The United States is a large food exporter.

How do 2 million jobs simply disappear without a noticeable impact on the available goods/services? Can this trend continue, as has farming, with greater efficiency, or has consumption simply decreased to make way for this fall in employment? Is a decrease in consumption in our society a negative? Or has the recent move from a nation of farmers and manufacturers to a service-oriented economy mitigated the impact of the increase in unemployment?

Simply put, how do 2 million jobs in a service economy disappear without a noticeable impact on the services offered? Are we working simply to keep ourselves busy? Should we use this century's efficiency gains to decrease the time spent working, or are full workloads and higher prices a hedge against further population growth.

Or, better yet, are American workers embroiled with meaningful tasks or have our careers simply become one giant arts and crafts project?