Referees' Strike Shows Problems with Economy

â??Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball,â? wrote the cultural critic Jacques Barzun in the middle of last century. But if you want to understand whatâ??s going on in the U.S economy, youâ??d be better advised to get to know football. The recently resolved labor dispute between the National Football League and its referees illuminates several larger trends in the economy.