New Zealand was not the only country to add jobs as Australia also pleasantly surprised Forex traders with improving employment and an unexpected drop of the unemployment rate.

Australian employment grew by 50,100 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to the forecast of 11,500. Employment contracted by 31,100 in March. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down by 0.1 percentage point to 5.5 percent. Investors trimmed their bets on an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia even though the central bank hinted that it may reduce borrowing costs further.

AUD/USD climbed from 1.0169 to 1.0225 and AUD/JPY edged up from 100.65 to 100.99 as of 11:38 GMT today.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Australian Dollar:

The US has a black president, a black attorney general, a black UN ambassador and, apparently, soon another black Secretary of State.

The US cannot reclaim its economic vitality, which US corporations have sent abroad to India, China, and elsewhere, unless it can retrieve the offshored middle class jobs.

The economists who continue to advocate free trade and continue to confuse jobs offshoring with free trade are simply incompetent and professionally ignorant. oh nooooooo…

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/12/06/paul-craig-roberts-on-ron-paul-citizens-united-the-fiscal-cliff-and-america-today-read-more-httpcommunities-washingtontimes-comneighborhoodconscience-realist2012dec5paul-craig-roberts-ro/

Paul Craig Roberts on Ron Paul, Citizens United, the fiscal cliff, and America today
December 6, 2012 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Tags: Cliff, Cotto, Immigration, Lies, Multiculturalism, | Print This Article

Joseph F. Cotto:

America remains firmly caught in the Great Recession’s clutches. How do you think that our country can reclaim its economic vitality?

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts:

The US cannot reclaim its economic vitality, which US corporations have sent abroad to India, China, and elsewhere, unless it can retrieve the offshored middle class jobs. The only way in which the US can retrieve its middle class jobs is to tax US corporations according to the geographical location at which value is added to their product.

If corporations produce domestically with US labor, they would have a low tax rate. If corporations produce abroad they would have a high tax rate.

The tax rate can be calculated to more than offset the lower cost of foreign labor and, thus, cancel the excess profits that corporations make from substituting low cost foreign labor for US labor.

Cotto:

Prominent economists and politicians often say that free trade will only benefit America in the long run. What are your opinions about this idea?

Dr. Roberts:

Ralph E. Gomory and William J. Baumol have proven conclusively in their 2000 MIT Press book, Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests, that David Ricardo’s free trade theory was incorrect from the beginning. Therefore, the free trade issue is moot and a red herring.
Jobs offshoring is not free trade. Even if free trade theory was correct, jobs offshoring is pursuit of absolute advantage, the opposite of comparative advantage, which is the basis for the free trade argument. The economists who continue to advocate free trade and continue to confuse jobs offshoring with free trade are simply incompetent and professionally ignorant.

Cotto:

Everyone is talking about the Fiscal Cliff. What do you expect to happen if both parties fail to find common ground on a budget proposal?

Dr. Roberts:

The “fiscal cliff” is likely to be like the debt ceilings and the budget resolutions; just another can kicked down the road. The Congress will pass extension after extension. The Republicans will use the fiscal cliff to try to cut the social safety net, and the Democrats will use it to try to raise taxes.

If the parties succeed, a weak and faltering economy will get a double-barrel dose of austerity and be driven further into the ground.

Cotto:

Over the last several years, mass movements such as Occupy and the Tea Party have made an impact on the political process. Each is largely a result of the recession and popular anger at government malfeasance. From your standpoint, are Occupy and the Tea Party as different from one another as pundits tend to claim?

Dr. Roberts:

Occupy and the Tea Party both are expressions of frustration over the fact that the US government represents only a handful of powerful private interests who purchase the government which then does the bidding of the private interests.

Cotto:

Due to the Citizens United ruling, millions of Americans have become are nervous about the influence money plays in politics. Are these concerns legitimate?

Dr. Roberts:

The concerns about corporate money ruling politics are legitimate.This was the case even before the Republican Supreme Court made its Citizens United ruling legalizing the purchase of the US government by private interests.

Cotto:

During complicated times like these, a robust national security policy is essential. While America can continue to build stronger relationships with proven allies, more should be done to prevent domestic terrorism as well. What are your opinions on this most challenging matter?

Dr. Roberts:

There is no domestic terrorism. Moreover, the “war on terror” is a hoax. The hoax is increasingly perceived abroad, and, consequently, America’s relationships with allies are beginning to unravel. Today all Washington can do is to use money to purchase the governments that it needs as allies.

Cotto:

Illegal immigration is a political lightning rod. Some believe that America needs legislations like the DREAM Act. Others say that the federal government should deport all illegal aliens. What would you say is the most effective manner of dealing with such a contentious matter?

Dr. Roberts:

It is too late to do anything about immigration. The immigrants comprise too large a percentage of the population and many are now integrated into society. Washington has no better chance of expelling immigrants than Rome had of expelling Germans.

Cotto:

Multiculturalism is spreading across the Western world at high speed. This has led not only to language barriers, but substantial ethnic, religious, and racial tensions. How should our country’s leaders be approaching this volatile subject?

Dr. Roberts:

Empires become multicultural entities. In the US multiculturalism is protected by civil rights law and political correctness. The US has a black president, a black attorney general, a black UN ambassador and, apparently, soon another black Secretary of State. I am not complaining, just acknowledging the reality of multiculturalism. When the US government demonizes and profiles Arabs and Muslims, it might be breaking its own laws and also making other ethnicities and religions nervous.

Cotto:

Across the political spectrum, libertarianism has become very popular. Specifically in the Republican Party, followers of Ron Paul are posing a serious challenge to the establishment. What do you feel the Ron Paul movement brought to the conversation?

Dr. Roberts:

Ron Paul tried to bring defense of the US Constitution to the conversation, only to find that neither Republicans nor Democrats had any interest whatsoever in defending the US Constitution.

Cotto:

We all have turning points in our lives. At what point did the path diverge, leading you to become one of America’s most well known economists and political commentators?

Dr. Roberts:

It is not my path that has diverged. Rather, it is the path of the US government which has become less truthful, less accountable, more immoral, more evil, and more oppressive.
_
Thank you Dr. Roberts for your time. Learn more about Dr. Roberts and his work at the Institute for Political Economy website. Books are available at Amazon.com

15

About Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following.

The US has a black president, a black attorney general, a black UN ambassador and, apparently, soon another black Secretary of State.

The US cannot reclaim its economic vitality, which US corporations have sent abroad to India, China, and elsewhere, unless it can retrieve the offshored middle class jobs.

The economists who continue to advocate free trade and continue to confuse jobs offshoring with free trade are simply incompetent and professionally ignorant. oh nooooooo…

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/12/06/paul-craig-roberts-on-ron-paul-citizens-united-the-fiscal-cliff-and-america-today-read-more-httpcommunities-washingtontimes-comneighborhoodconscience-realist2012dec5paul-craig-roberts-ro/

Paul Craig Roberts on Ron Paul, Citizens United, the fiscal cliff, and America today
December 6, 2012 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Tags: Cliff, Cotto, Immigration, Lies, Multiculturalism, | Print This Article

Joseph F. Cotto:

America remains firmly caught in the Great Recession’s clutches. How do you think that our country can reclaim its economic vitality?

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts:

The US cannot reclaim its economic vitality, which US corporations have sent abroad to India, China, and elsewhere, unless it can retrieve the offshored middle class jobs. The only way in which the US can retrieve its middle class jobs is to tax US corporations according to the geographical location at which value is added to their product.

If corporations produce domestically with US labor, they would have a low tax rate. If corporations produce abroad they would have a high tax rate.

The tax rate can be calculated to more than offset the lower cost of foreign labor and, thus, cancel the excess profits that corporations make from substituting low cost foreign labor for US labor.

Cotto:

Prominent economists and politicians often say that free trade will only benefit America in the long run. What are your opinions about this idea?

Dr. Roberts:

Ralph E. Gomory and William J. Baumol have proven conclusively in their 2000 MIT Press book, Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests, that David Ricardo’s free trade theory was incorrect from the beginning. Therefore, the free trade issue is moot and a red herring.
Jobs offshoring is not free trade. Even if free trade theory was correct, jobs offshoring is pursuit of absolute advantage, the opposite of comparative advantage, which is the basis for the free trade argument. The economists who continue to advocate free trade and continue to confuse jobs offshoring with free trade are simply incompetent and professionally ignorant.

Cotto:

Everyone is talking about the Fiscal Cliff. What do you expect to happen if both parties fail to find common ground on a budget proposal?

Dr. Roberts:

The “fiscal cliff” is likely to be like the debt ceilings and the budget resolutions; just another can kicked down the road. The Congress will pass extension after extension. The Republicans will use the fiscal cliff to try to cut the social safety net, and the Democrats will use it to try to raise taxes.

If the parties succeed, a weak and faltering economy will get a double-barrel dose of austerity and be driven further into the ground.

Cotto:

Over the last several years, mass movements such as Occupy and the Tea Party have made an impact on the political process. Each is largely a result of the recession and popular anger at government malfeasance. From your standpoint, are Occupy and the Tea Party as different from one another as pundits tend to claim?

Dr. Roberts:

Occupy and the Tea Party both are expressions of frustration over the fact that the US government represents only a handful of powerful private interests who purchase the government which then does the bidding of the private interests.

Cotto:

Due to the Citizens United ruling, millions of Americans have become are nervous about the influence money plays in politics. Are these concerns legitimate?

Dr. Roberts:

The concerns about corporate money ruling politics are legitimate.This was the case even before the Republican Supreme Court made its Citizens United ruling legalizing the purchase of the US government by private interests.

Cotto:

During complicated times like these, a robust national security policy is essential. While America can continue to build stronger relationships with proven allies, more should be done to prevent domestic terrorism as well. What are your opinions on this most challenging matter?

Dr. Roberts:

There is no domestic terrorism. Moreover, the “war on terror” is a hoax. The hoax is increasingly perceived abroad, and, consequently, America’s relationships with allies are beginning to unravel. Today all Washington can do is to use money to purchase the governments that it needs as allies.

Cotto:

Illegal immigration is a political lightning rod. Some believe that America needs legislations like the DREAM Act. Others say that the federal government should deport all illegal aliens. What would you say is the most effective manner of dealing with such a contentious matter?

Dr. Roberts:

It is too late to do anything about immigration. The immigrants comprise too large a percentage of the population and many are now integrated into society. Washington has no better chance of expelling immigrants than Rome had of expelling Germans.

Cotto:

Multiculturalism is spreading across the Western world at high speed. This has led not only to language barriers, but substantial ethnic, religious, and racial tensions. How should our country’s leaders be approaching this volatile subject?

Dr. Roberts:

Empires become multicultural entities. In the US multiculturalism is protected by civil rights law and political correctness. The US has a black president, a black attorney general, a black UN ambassador and, apparently, soon another black Secretary of State. I am not complaining, just acknowledging the reality of multiculturalism. When the US government demonizes and profiles Arabs and Muslims, it might be breaking its own laws and also making other ethnicities and religions nervous.

Cotto:

Across the political spectrum, libertarianism has become very popular. Specifically in the Republican Party, followers of Ron Paul are posing a serious challenge to the establishment. What do you feel the Ron Paul movement brought to the conversation?

Dr. Roberts:

Ron Paul tried to bring defense of the US Constitution to the conversation, only to find that neither Republicans nor Democrats had any interest whatsoever in defending the US Constitution.

Cotto:

We all have turning points in our lives. At what point did the path diverge, leading you to become one of America’s most well known economists and political commentators?

Dr. Roberts:

It is not my path that has diverged. Rather, it is the path of the US government which has become less truthful, less accountable, more immoral, more evil, and more oppressive.
_
Thank you Dr. Roberts for your time. Learn more about Dr. Roberts and his work at the Institute for Political Economy website. Books are available at Amazon.com

15

About Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following.

US becomes a country of ‘downward mobility’..well ..morons, ship more Jobs to China and India and that should fix ya!
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-education-oecd-states-283/

Published: 05 December, 2012, 01:22
TAGS:

A young man sits beside a freeway off ramp holding a sign that reads ‘Homeless Plz Help’ (AFP Photo / Frederic J. Brown)

An expert on education with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says that the economic dominance of the United States is at risk because fewer Americans are pursuing advanced degrees.

Andreas Schleicher, special adviser on education at the OECD, tells the BBC this week that current trends in the US indicate that generation of Americans in school will likely be less educated than their parents. At this rate, he says, the US will be the only major economy on Earth where the younger generation doesn’t receive an education on par or better with what their parents received.

The result, he fears, would be the United States falling behind other countries, economically speaking, because a smaller proportion of adults will be qualified to carry out the jobs that will be in high demand for the generation skipping out on secondary school. According to the BBC’s take, “downward mobility” is threatening the American Dream by making it more difficult to prepare younger generations today with real-world situations to face in the future.

“It’s something of great significance because much of today’s economic power of the United States rests on a very high degree of adult skills – and that is now at risk,” Mr. Schleicher tells the BBC.

“These skills are the engine of the US economy and the engine is stuttering.”

Schleicher’s comments come following the release of a just-published OECD report that takes into consideration what levels of education are being pursued across the world. According to those findings, the US is starting to slip in terms of how many Americans are educated on a college level. Sadly, he fears, the result could be catastrophic for the country’s economy down the road.

“If you lose the confidence in the idea that effort and investment in education can change life chances, it’s a really serious issue,” he says.

Citing school system mismanagement and federal legislation as potential reasoning for the depressing trend, Norman Poltenson of the Mohawk Valley Business Journal writes this week that it isn’t impossible to turn the downward mobility around.

“US public high-school graduation rates have declined for the past three decades with only a recent, slight uptick. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, on-time, public high-school graduation rates have remained below 75 percent for the past 20 years. The rate has actually declined over a 40-year span, and the gap between minority and majority graduation rates have not converged at all over the last 35 years. Also, the decline of graduation rates is growing among young males, exacerbating a corresponding gender gap in college attendance with increasing numbers of women attending colleges and universities,” he writes.
“What’s missing in this rush to drive up the quantity of teachers and bureaucrats is a concern for quality. You don’t have to be a professional educator to recognize that teacher effectiveness is the most critical component in education. This relentless focus on putting teachers in the classroom hasn’t been accompanied by a concern to hire and retain outstanding teachers. Moreover, the explosion of bureaucracy has hampered teacher performance rather than enhanced it,” opines Poltenson.

Tackling the teaching issue might not be the surefire solution to make sure students strive to succeed, though. Other statistics released as of late reveal that children in the US don’t have it as easy as generations before them, with around 23 percent of US children currently living in poverty according to the OECD.

Meanwhile, schools in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee may have found a solution. Those five states agreed this week to add an additional 300 hours of teaching time, affecting around 20,000 students in 40 schools over the next three years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“I’m convinced the kind of results we’ll see over the next couple of years, I think, will compel the country to act in a very different way,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan tells the paper.