The Maddow Blog – Why you just keep working more

Interesting…

Companies have tons of cash on their balance sheets, but aren’t hiring or ramping up.  Instead, they are preserving profits.

President Obama today more or less pleaded with American companies to hire more people. In a tough economy, if the government won’t goose hiring through a public economic stimulus, then it’s up to companies. Mr. Obama, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

“Today, American companies have nearly $2 trillion sitting on their balance sheets. And I know that many of you have told me that you’re waiting for demand to rise before you get off the sidelines and expand, and that with millions of Americans out of work, demand has risen more slowly than any of us would like.”

“We’re in this together, but many of your own economists and salespeople are now forecasting a healthy increase in demand. So I just want to encourage you to get in the game.”

But here’s the thing — those companies are in the game already, and a lot of them are winning. Profits are up, even if hiring’s not. Part of what makes that possible is that workers have been doing more; productivity was growing at an annual rate of 2.6 percent at the end of 2010. So if you feel like you’re working harder, if you feel more tired than usual at the end of the day, there’s solid evidence that you’re not just low on vitamins and/or minerals.

via The Maddow Blog – Why you just keep working more.