Toward a new political economy for the U.S.

For at least three decades, the US economy has failed to produce an adequate number of well-paid jobs. In manufacturing, the situation is even direr. Manufacturing full-time equivalent employment (FTE) has declined from 18.6 million in 1987 to 12 million in 2008. Particularly in the last ten years, the US economy has lost critical capacity and technological leadership in key high-tech and emerging green technology sectors. Economics students know that there are four major categories of national expenditure that make up GDP: a) consumption, b) investment, c) government spending, and d) exports minus imports. Since the beginning of the current "Great Recession" the Chicago Political Economy Group (CPEG) has been calling for the US to vastly expand publicly provided, well-paid, and professionalized "human" service employment and provision, and eliminate and reduce economic incentives that lead to financial and low-end service sector job growth.