~~Would you support a federal ban on the exporting of jobs for lower wages?~~

[EXman]

Lou Dobbs does I was shocked!

Anyhow a town close to me has a Jockey plant closing up shop he in Ky. and it has been open for more than 35 years. People that have worked there for years even some original employees 35+ years are going to lose their jobs. These people made a fair living and served their company well. This small town will fall apart when the plant it tax revenue and the good paying jobs leave. The only reason the plant is leaving is for cheaper labor. So cheap it costs less to make a factory make the item and ship it to the U.S. than to keep the plant here. If this is correct then these jobs are being exported to neosweatshops siphoning our manufacturing jobs to ultra poor countries and widening the gap between low and high income citizens. The Fat Cats are cleaning Up on their company stock and the average Joe is sent to the unemployment office, the local gas station, or worse turns to crime. This is going to come back and get us in the U.S. I have no doubt.

would you support a ban on the exporting any type of job even Hi-tech jobs <cough>India just for cheaper labor?

Yes it would be hard to regulate don't think I am niave. And I don't think it wouldn't but in theory would you support it so you could spend a few pennies less on items.

 

[onelove]

welcome to the global economy. think retraining/better education.

if jockey doesn't send that plant to pakistan, then fruitas de loomas will just import panties to the US for a lower price and enough people will buy them that Jockey will lose market share.

hard to explain to workers who are not equipped to change jobs or who lose their pensions. will be much harder to explain to the many young people who have flunked their way through 12th grade and will not be qualified to get thinking jobs.

 

[mugs]

Don't blame the fat-cats, blame the Wal-mart mentality of demanding lower and lower prices to the point where companies have to look for ways to cut costs in order to make a profit.

Edit:
My "field" is one that has been affected by globalization, a lot of our jobs have been sent to India. I'm still looking for a job in my field, but I'm prepared for the possibility (probability) that I will not work in that field for the rest of my life. Sure there'll always be jobs that can't be outsourced - I have a friend that works for a defense contractor, his job can only be done by a U.S. citizen. But who knows what the salaries will be for those jobs when they're the only ones left. Right now I'm working in a service-oriented industry, which to me seems like the safest place to be, because my job can't be exported.

I voted no.

 

[Jmman]

Yeah, lets put all the protectionist policies we want in place and watch our economy soar.......

.......I have said it in the past and I will say it again, we need to make economics a mandatory class.....

 

[EXman]

think retraining/better education.

At 50 yo what retraining is a frabric bleacher who has done it for 30 years going to lead to? How long will it take? How would he pay the rent, feed the kids, in the mean time? And when he is done retraining will it be close to what he was making before?

if jockey doesn't send that plant to pakistan, then fruitas de loomas will just import panties to the US for a lower price and enough people will buy them that Jockey will lose market share.

Not if the Fruits cannot export anymore jobs.

hard to explain to workers who are not equipped to change jobs or who lose their pensions.

Nope they were told sorry we cannot afford it see you later and thanks for your many years of loyalty your last check will include directions to the unemployment office.

will be much harder to explain to the many young people who have flunked their way through 12th grade and will not be qualified to get thinking jobs.

All young people cannot become engineers, Doctors, lawyers, CEO's, CFO's, bankers and so on. What are they supposed to do? What about people that are good with their hands? America has the Most Productive workers in the world. Are these important contributors to the nation worth any less than you developing software that is pirated throughout the world making your company less and less.

Finally it is snobbish & arrogant to think that you are better than another worker. Btw can you bleach fabric at a factory? Who's to say you wouldn't suck. not an attack I'm just standing up for the little guy.

 

[EXman]

Yeah, lets put all the protectionist policies we want in place and watch our economy soar..............I have said it in the past and I will say it again, we need to make economics a mandatory class.....

Do you know a person or a town that got whiped off the map when NAFTA was introduced?

Have you noticed our economy since 1990's it is not working... I guess our top economists missed your class

 

[NonSequiter]

~~Would you support a federal ban on the exporting of jobs for lower wages?~~

And how exactly would you propose enforcing that ban if we were ever stupid enough to pass it? Should we just hand them incorporation papers for the Cayman Islands since we're evidently going to tell them they're persona non grata for off-shoring some of their jobs? Not allow them to list their shares on the NYSE? Ban foreign companies like Toyota from setting up plants here, since they may decide at some to repatriate (read: "off-shore") their operations back to their home country?

 

[bozack]

weren't many of the same arguments raised when factories became automated??

honestly to stifle competition in the name of job retention will only backfire in the long run....companies have decided the course they want to take, now all we can do is sit back and see what happens...if restrictions are put in place companies will find ways around them.

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: bozack
weren't many of the same arguments raised when factories became automated??

honestly to stifle competition in the name of job retention will only backfire in the long run....companies have decided the course they want to take, now all we can do is sit back and see what happens...if restrictions are put in place companies will find ways around them.

True...but Americans should reply with their voices and dollars.

If you want to be able to buy American...buy American.

Read your labels!

 

[tnitsuj]

Quote
think retraining/better education.

At 50 yo what retraining is a frabric bleacher who has done it for 30 years going to lead to? How long will it take? How would he pay the rent, feed the kids, in the mean time? And when he is done retraining will it be close to what he was making before?



How exactly is crippling the economy going to help someone like that in the long term? This is a matter of personal responsibility and economic freedom. Take away either of those and we might as well kiss our economy goodbye.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
Quote
think retraining/better education.

At 50 yo what retraining is a frabric bleacher who has done it for 30 years going to lead to? How long will it take? How would he pay the rent, feed the kids, in the mean time? And when he is done retraining will it be close to what he was making before?

If the guy is 50, his kids are probably grown up.

 

[dirtboy]

Either outsource or get beaten by your competition with lower prices. Companies aren't faced with much of a choice and people here won't work for less, especially unionized places, so it's bye-bye jobs.

 

[EXman]

How exactly is crippling the economy going to help someone like that in the long term?

So if it was your Job exported you support it? Crippling the economy? Crippling the US more like it have you ever been to a place that a high unemployment rate in the U.S.? Crime is more prevelent, so is drug use and single mothers on welfare.

Our economy might soar but so will our welfare state if that is an OK trade with you until it directly affects you so be it. Everyone cannot be retrained or educated for some crap job that again will be sent overseas. I see a vicious cycle forming and the lower class growing at an exponential rate. Then can our soaring or even stagnating economy carry the rest?

Either outsource or get beaten by your competition with lower prices.

So Dell was really threatened when they moved to India? No it was done to pad the stock price not to keep e-machines away

 

[Shad0hawK]

Originally posted by: bozack
weren't many of the same arguments raised when factories became automated??

honestly to stifle competition in the name of job retention will only backfire in the long run....companies have decided the course they want to take, now all we can do is sit back and see what happens...if restrictions are put in place companies will find ways around them.

what exman fails to see (like many) is history. if the american companies stay here foreign companies will use that same cheap labor to compete with the overpriced american products...can you say "japan" and "1980's"? i knew you could! when the american company loses market share everyone in the company loses including thos workers who will get laid off anyway.

economic isolationism does not work. never has, never will.

 

[KK]

If you want to ban export of cheaper wage jobs, then you gotta ban imports also that are coming in from other nations. Let's go the isolationists way of life. Pull our troops from every hotspot and put them on our borders to prevent them mexicans and canucks from getting into the country to take our jobs. Put the navy down along florida and sink every refugee boat that comes out of Cuba. We could be a self-contained nation, don't you think?

KK

 

[Ornery]

Way to go, wrapping your whole city's economy around one business. Great planning there!

As a consumer, I DO appreciate the lower priced, disposable stuff. We're constantly giving up low value products to foreigners to make for us. Who the hell wants to weave baskets and such? If that's the only skill you have, one that a 10 year old Chinese girl can do, then how much do you REALLY think it's worth?

Maybe the government can be of use, here. Maybe we can bring back vocational education, so people can learn REAL skills that can be applied to jobs that just can't be exported... nah, that's crazy!

 

[Nitemare]

No, but I would eliminate the corporate welfare and tax breaks that these companies get for outsourcing jobs and putting Americans out of work.

 

[SuperTool]

Training and education is not going to help much. Similarly trained Chinese or Indian worker will work for a fifth of what American gets now.
I think we need to go through a painful transition where people lose jobs, and both prices and wages collapse, so at some point the prices and wages will fall enough to make it cheaper to build here than to build offshore and ship here. As it stands now, US cannot compete with Chinese labor with their billion plus population and socialized healthcare. It's probably cheaper to hire a worker in China than to just pay insurance for US worker.

 

[SuperTool]

I guess what I am saying is that American workers don't have a Chinaman's chance at these wage levels

 

[onelove]

Originally posted by: EXman

Finally it is snobbish & arrogant to think that you are better than another worker. Btw can you bleach fabric at a factory? Who's to say you wouldn't suck. not an attack I'm just standing up for the little guy.

not trying to say anyone is better, just that certain segments of the workforce are facing a tough row ahead. In the end, this hurts everyone in America when workers are unemployed, but it is going to hurt those with outsource-able skills most.

btw, I appreciate the points you make and I don't have easy answers - its a difficult situation.

I think it is going to make our collective heads spin how fast the world will change in the coming years. Those who will succeed (or, perhaps, be hurt least) are those who embrace change fastest and adapt best. there is a segment of the work force that will be forced to retire because their jobs will no longer exist in america.

 

[Shad0hawK]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
No, but I would eliminate the corporate welfare and tax breaks that these companies get for outsourcing jobs and putting Americans out of work.

tax breaks are used to try and keep the companies here, the bottom line is always caried by the consumer..ALWAYS. anything that makes it more expensive to produce goods ands services find it's way in the price, that is paid by you and me.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: Shad0hawK

Originally posted by: Nitemare
No, but I would eliminate the corporate welfare and tax breaks that these companies get for outsourcing jobs and putting Americans out of work.

tax breaks are used to try and keep the companies here, the bottom line is always caried by the consumer..ALWAYS. anything that makes it more expensive to produce goods ands services find it's way in the price, that is paid by you and me.

There is more to this than the bottom line. There is also the top line to worry about. Losing one's job will make these goods and services just as if not more unaffordable as closing offshoring tax loopholes will by increasing prices.
If the tax breaks are to keep the companies here, they should only be given to companies who keep producing here. We should not be subsidising manufacturing overseas.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: Shad0hawK

Originally posted by: Nitemare
No, but I would eliminate the corporate welfare and tax breaks that these companies get for outsourcing jobs and putting Americans out of work.

tax breaks are used to try and keep the companies here, the bottom line is always caried by the consumer..ALWAYS. anything that makes it more expensive to produce goods ands services find it's way in the price, that is paid by you and me.

There is more to this than the bottom line. There is also the top line to worry about. Losing one's job will make these goods and services just as if not more unaffordable as closing offshoring tax loopholes will by increasing prices.
If the tax breaks are to keep the companies here, they should only be given to companies who keep producing here. We should not be subsidising manufacturing overseas.

We should not be subsidizing manufacturing overseas

AMEN

 

[Wolfdog]

Yes I would support steps taken to ensure the continued employment of Americans at home. The question needs to be asked if those "overseas" are better or just cheap labor. Taking advantage of other third world countries itsn't the solution. How many of the companies that have laid off tens of thousands here give things like healthcare for workers overseas? Or even a decent wage? It used to be that Americans would give companies a very hard time hiring sweatshops overseas. Now nobody seems to give a damn. Companies like Nike that would build factories overseas, work thier workers and then leave on a whim. Closing down the plant and moving elsewhere. Now that's economic growth for you. (note sarcasm!) When it comes down to it, there is no need to go anywhere else than here in America to find very qualified and educated individuals. The people who are spouting that American workers aren't as educated as those overseas obviously haven't gone to any of the unemployment fairs!! Obviously aren't seeing the multitude of college grads that can't find a job. Where I draw the line is when workers that are far and away more productive here get laid off since they can pay someone who is far less qualified 1/10 of what they have to here. The new bill doesn't go far enough in my mind. They really need to close down the tax holes that allow breaks for companies going overseas. If nothing is done about it, there will be a gradual erosion of the tax base and a welfare state could become more of the norm. The 500 billion deficit will increase as people can only occupy the lower wage jobs, which also are taxed less. What then, increase taxes? Decreasing the disposable income and making it impossible for purchasing anything but the most basic items? There is no quick solution.