Where Jobs Really Come From

Seems Jim Gust and I chose jokes about jobs as the subject of the day (see preceding posts). "Great minds . . . " and all that.

Much as I admire Gary Trudeau, he's no match for the professional jokers in Congress.

If Congress wants to stop joking, a good start would be to read this recent Robert Samuelson column. (Boldface added)

All net job creation from 1980 to 2005 came from firms that were five years old or less, according to a study by economists John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland and Ron Jarmin and Javier Miranda of the Census Bureau. In any one year, that may not be true; but over time, mature firms lose more jobs than they create. "It's not small firms but young firms that count," says economist Robert Litan of the Kauffman Foundation, which sponsored the study.