Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- July 21, 2011

The End Of The Growth Consensus -- John B. Taylor, Wall Street Journal

America added 44 million jobs in the 1980s and '90s, when both parties showed they had learned from past mistakes. The lessons have been forgotten.

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the official start of the recovery from the 2007-09 recession. But it's a recovery in name only: Real gross domestic product growth has averaged only 2.8% per year compared with 7.1% after the most recent deep recession in 1981-82. The growth slowdown this year—to about 1.5% in the second quarter—is not only disappointing, it's a reminder that the recovery has been stalled from the start. As shown in the nearby chart, the percentage of the working-age population that is actually working has declined since the start of the recovery in sharp contrast to 1983-84. With unemployment still over 9%, there is an urgent need to change course.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Upheaval in Syria, Somnolence in The White House -- Dan Friedman, Big Peace

Plotting a post-Assad road map for Syria -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Helmand handover 'will fail' unless Pakistan border can be secured -- Ben Farmer, The Telegraph

As NATO pulls back, Afghans worry about Taliban's return -- Tom A. Peter, Christian Science Monitor

Sorry, Pakistan: China Is No Sugar Daddy -- Urmila Venugopalan, Foreign Policy

Who thinks Qaddafi could stay in Libya? -- Robert Zeliger, Foreign Policy

Our Iraqi allies deserve better -- L.A. Times editorial

Egypt can still lead the Arab world to democracy -- Washington Post editorial

A step forward, then a step back in South China Sea dispute -- Edmund Downie, Foreign Policy

Watershed moment in China's food security -- Michael Richardson, Japan Times

Is Colombia's FARC rebounding? -- Elyssa Pachico, Christian Science Monitor

Famine in East Africa. A Catastrophe in the Making -- Clemens Höges and Horand Knaup, Spiegel Online

Obama Legacy May Be Withering American Dream -- John Zogby, Forbes

Endgame for the US debt fight -- Charles Gasparino, New York Post

Debt crisis: In our competitive decadence, we face eurogeddon and dollargeddon -- Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian