The latest QE-program announced by the Bernanke Fed will be tied to the progress of the labor market, which has seen the unemployment rate tick down as a consequence of a falling labor participation rate, rather than truly improved economic conditions.

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All peripheral countries have made significant progress toward regaining competitiveness in terms of unit labor costs, albeit at a high price in unemployment.

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Manufacturing as a share of private-sector employment has been declining for decades, he said, because of outsourcing and, more importantly, "the rapid pace of labor-saving technological progress, " which is affecting employment in the sector even in developing countries.

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Meanwhile, progress was mired in a lot of old arguments traded across entrenched political divides: left versus right, management versus labor, business leaders versus environmental advocates.

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