HERE’S ANOTHER CONUNDRUM FOR YOU: While listening to the radio this morning, I heard a business analyst type explaining that the unemployment rate would be unlikely to go down anytime soon because manufacturers have found that they can produce as much - or more - with fewer workers than they could pre-recession; therefore there is no incentive to hire more workers.

On the other hand, Social Security is in such bad shape that there is serious talk of both increasing FICA taxes and retirement ages.

Isn’t there just a bit of a disconnect here? What’s the net gain to raising employment taxes and retirement ages on people who are increasingly likely to be permanently unemployed?