"in a global economy,

[Cie]

how is first world labor supposed to compete?"

20 yrs ago, Clinton and his staffers openly mocked Perot , who at the time predicted that globalization would kill the American middle class. Who is laughing now?

Middle class will continue to shrink. The jobs will never return.

 

[ChrryBlstr]

how is first world labor supposed to compete?"

20 yrs ago, Clinton and his staffers openly mocked Perot , who at the time predicted that globalization would kill the American middle class. Who is laughing now?

Middle class will continue to shrink. The jobs will never return.

I remember having a discussion/debate with Mr. Freeze which ran along the same lines. He argued that there was nothing wrong with outsourcing and that the west's middle class would simply become the world's managerial class.

I guess not!

Globalization and exploitation of the poor, especially overseas, for increased profits will end up biting everyone in the ass. Always for instant gratification and short-sightedness.

Peace!

 

[ImFeklhr]

how is first world labor supposed to compete?"

20 yrs ago, Clinton and his staffers openly mocked Perot , who at the time predicted that globalization would kill the American middle class. Who is laughing now?

Middle class will continue to shrink. The jobs will never return.

The jobs will never return. The middle class will continue to shrink, but the quality of life of the poor 75% will probably continue to rise for a bit (due to tech, medical, science advancements).

But jobs never returning brings me to one of my favorite dilemmas:
What happens when we can live with our current standard of living (or higher) with only 25-50% of people needing to work?
Who "gets" to work, who gets to not work?
In a society where comforts are provided with only 25% working, will you be able to blame the poor for being lazy? Will working be seen as a reward or punishment, and honor or disgrace?
That is what is happening just as much as out-sourcing. Automation has eliminated so many jobs in the past 100 years.

I think this will be the big challenge to figure out as a society.

 

[Mr. Poon]

Automation has eliminated so many jobs in the past 100 years.

This is true but you also have to consider the additional companies that are around due to the automation and technology. Cell phone companies, comptuer companies, software companies, etc.

 

[ImFeklhr]

This is true but you also have to consider the additional companies that are around due to the automation and technology. Cell phone companies, comptuer companies, software companies, etc.

No doubt, it's not a complete loss but I bet there are fewer people working for Maytag than there used to be that worked beating clothes against rocks.
And fewer people working for John Deere than worked the fields 100 years ago.

 

[StevieD]

Jobs can return very easily. We just a politicial or two with some balls. What we have to do is Impose a tariff on all goods coming in to the US. Make it a heavy Tariff. Much like we had in the 1980's. This is not a new problem. Put a $200 tariff on a pair of sneakers and where do you think the sneakers will be made. Same with the TV's, computers, phones, whatever! We have to force these corporations to make their products here or the greedy pricks never will.

 

[Cie]

Jobs can return very easily. We just a politicial or two with some balls.

What we need are voters with balls. We cannot keep voting for the 2 major parties and expect anything to change.

 

[ImFeklhr]

Jobs can return very easily. We just a politicial or two with some balls. What we have to do is Impose a tariff on all goods coming in to the US. Make it a heavy Tariff. Much like we had in the 1980's. This is not a new problem. Put a $200 tariff on a pair of sneakers and where do you think the sneakers will be made. Same with the TV's, computers, phones, whatever! We have to force these corporations to make their products here or the greedy pricks never will.

If we did this, we would need to be ready to deal with the pollution we have off-shored, and more importantly adjust back to quality goods that cost a lot more than we are currently paying.
We would have to start embracing repairing things rather than throwing them away in lieu of a new piece of cheap crap from China.
This would be a big adjustment for many.