Jobs Come and Go (One of the smartest economists in the world hits the nail on the head)

www.townhall.com ^ | 11/26/2003 | Walter E. Williams

[XBob]

266-"American brainpower designed all the machines and processes which make it possible for third-world countries to put us out of business.

And we gave all that knowledge away for free."

so true SC

[XBob]

269- "How will we deal with surplus workers in a high tech world.? "

starve them to death?

[XBob]

269- "How will we deal with surplus workers in a high tech world.? "

starve them to death!

Yes, that's it - it's every man for himself, and they should have known better than to be born into a high tech world.

[ninenot]

Yup. It's no secret to Willie, Fitz, APole & others that taxes and regs are killing industry.

But only the larger firms ($50MM+ sales or so) are able to finance an escape to other countries without too much trouble.

It's the small businesses we worry about most.

BTW, managed to open the PDF study on temps. Most interesting finding they had was that the use of temps artificially enhances "productivity" numbers. I shoulda thunka that...

AND--the use of 'temps' has grown immensely since 1992. A little research will tell us which major reg package was shoved through around 1990-1992 that caused THAT problem.

[XBob]

273-"The point is: howcomeizzit that all those Europeans RETAIN manufacturing through policy, and the Chinese are FIGHTING for all those manufacturing jobs through whatever means--and the USA doesn't seem to get it?"

we have too many lawyers here.

[FITZ]

I would love to be so 'rich'.

Me too. It's interesting how people define poverty and wealth today. If someone has a Lexus, 3 color televisions with cable, and all that --- everyone wants to call them wealthy --- but I think you have to compare your assets (real assets --- not things you bought) with your debts and of course if you have anything left of your income after you've met your needs. It seems like a lot of people ---- and our country is living way too much in the red. I know of people who had very high incomes who ended up declaring bankrupcy and yet many people with low incomes manage to always stay in the black.

[XBob]

277 - "To its credit, GE still maintains an excellent training program for its entry-level white-collar employees"

Yes, they are pretty good, if you speak Chinese, which is where all the GE products are now made.

[ninenot]

Property rights are a subset of human rights.

Those "other countries" do not recognize human rights--how could they possibly recognize property rights?

You may think I'm nuts--my wife does--this is a religious thing. Only the Judaeo-Christian tradition supports human rights and their subsets.

Religions which believe in 'reincarnation' or 'when you're dead you're dead' are simply not conditions which support our concepts.

[ninenot]

Not all. Most of the appliances are made in Mexico.

[texastoo]

This man is a genius. Every article he writes just explains the topic of interest so well and so truly.

I wish he would just explain my phone bill to me as it is alot higher than in the 1970s. Even with low long distance charges, the bill is much higher. If all of you were to be honest, you would have to agree our bills went up with the lower long distance rates.

Pardon me as I am not impressed with this article.

[XBob]

348 - "Property rights are a subset of human rights."

Read it again. I was referring to the concept of 'intellectual property'.

Property rights are pretty well, commonly understood, though not totally.

Like, as I found, if I had a 7 shirts hanging out on a wash line, drying, one could be 'honorably' stolen, while if I had only one hanging out on the line it would not be stolen. You see, with 7, I had more than I needed, so it wasn't really stealing.

But the concept of 'intelectual property' was univerally not understood.

[XBob]

All my GE appliances, my fan, my coffee maker, my toaster, and my crock pot are made in China. My non-GE keyboard and non-GE tevlevision are made in Mexico.

My west-bend frying pan is made in the US. (Wow- how did that happen - OH, it's 10 years old).

[XBob]

CEO's Marital Duties Outsourced To Mexican Groundskeeper
the onion


GROSSE POINTE, MI—As part of the ongoing trend toward replacing U.S. workers with foreign labor, the marital duties of United Carborundum CEO Howard Reinhardt have been outsourced to his Mexican groundskeeper, industry sources revealed Monday.

"It was time for a change," said Reinhardt's wife Melanie, who has been married to the CEO for 17 years and has conducted her sexual business almost exclusively with him since 1984. "While I was generally satisfied with the level of servicing that I received under Howard, it was my feeling that a younger, more aggressive hand on the tiller might bring some new ideas into play. No matter how mutually satisfying the old deal was, its time had passed."

Although specific terms of the arrangement have not been made public, Melanie allowed that she has been "very pleased" by the new supplier—Jorge Escobedo, a 26-year-old gardener from Sierra Mojada who has been working in the U.S. since February.

"The switchover was seamless, considering how rapidly the deal was closed," said Melanie, who initiated the informal arrangement with Escobedo on Nov. 20, while he was cleaning the equipment shed. "Well, in truth, I was considering a move in this direction for some time, and looking into possibilities. Then Jorge offered me a very attractive package, and I decided it was in my interest to act. I've been very pleased with his initial performance."

Melanie said Escobedo beats her former provider in availability, reliability, and turnaround. He also requires minimal emotional investment from Melanie, who is the sole receiver of the goods under the new arrangement.


Above: Hardworking groundskeeper Jorge Escobedo and his employers, Howard and Melanie Reinhardt.
Melanie offered few details on the ins-and-outs of the deal, but she did report that the outsourcing is limited to Reinhardt's marital duties. All previous supply arrangements with Reinhardt, including those pertaining to housing and finance, are still very much in effect.

"This isn't some sort of challenge to the American workforce as a whole," Melanie said. "I'm just sending the jobs where they're going to be done most efficiently. The acquisition of houses, automobiles, and clothing will all still be in Howard's wheelhouse, but groundskeeping and plowing are now to be managed by Jorge. It just makes sense."

Melanie said the outsourcing is a direct response to the expansion of Reinhardt's duties at United Carborundum.

"Howard is simply too busy to personally keep track of every detail of the marital union," Melanie said. "As long as he's available when he's needed—major Reinhardt-family gatherings and the United Carborundum holiday ball—I'm happy to have someone else's input day-to-day."

The Reinhardt household has been moving toward a more modular operation for years now. Laundry duties are handled by a small Chinese concern; child-rearing and education are performed by a live-in salaried Irish employee; and a loosely organized, rotating consortium of Italians, Japanese, and Greeks handles food service. The sexual-services agreement, however, marks the Reinhardts' first use of highly skilled foreign manpower.

The news of the outsourcing was met with little surprise in the greater Detroit area, where community members are used to seeing hard-won jobs go to foreign labor, and are aware of cooling relations in the Reinhardt household.

"This proposal might not be the win-win situation that Melanie is projecting," said Philip Johannsen, business writer for the Detroit Free Press. "But it's going to be tough for Howard to say he didn't see it coming. When it came time to find a groundskeeper, he delegated the crucial domestic-hiring decision to his wife. He knows she's a very proactive person, so it shouldn't surprise him that she took the initiative to shore up areas of the household where she saw standards slipping."

"If American executives are not willing to shoulder the increased personal investment of time and energy required to keep the jobs in-house, globalization is just something they're going to have to accept," Johannsen added.

Howard Reinhardt was unavailable for comment, as he was scouting locations in Oaxaca for a boron-nitride factory.

[Taliesan]

Gee, the protectionists here must have been doing something right.

You're assuming that the difference between us and the other countries you mention is due to protectionist measures of the past.

[Taliesan]

Now, just how many Florida oranges is that Bengladeshi going to buy, who has had his hourly wage doubled, from 5 cents to 10 cents per hour, when Florida Oranges cost $1.00 each in Bengladesh?

None.

[ninenot]

Intellectual Property is subject to "property rights" as is your land, car, and house.

Same concept. Socialists will not get it.

As to excessive property--in the Jud/Christian tradition, it is NOT up to those in need to, ah, re-appropriate the items. It IS an obligation of the owner to charitably utilize the property. IOW, if you have 7 shirts and someone is naked, you damn-near-automatically hand him one or two of your shirts.

[Paul Ross]

Obviously trading with the enemy is not "liberty" its treason. Communist apologist.

[Paul Ross]

Another key mistake by Hoover was his monetary retrenchment policy, which made it impossible for new activity to be financed...and which then opened the door for his successor FDR's attempt to supplant private investment with governmental.

[XBob]

356 - "Intellectual Property is subject to "property rights" as is your land, car, and house.
Same concept. Socialists will not get it. "

You missed my point. 3rd world thinkers do not get it! period. In my many years overseas, I did not find a single one who understood the value of 'intellectual property' without a great deal of explanation. And in fact, many never understood, no matter how much we talked.

And they don't understand that this is the concept which has made America 'rich'.

[XBob]

356 - "As to excessive property--in the Jud/Christian tradition, it is NOT up to those in need to, ah, re-appropriate the items. It IS an obligation of the owner to charitably utilize the property. IOW, if you have 7 shirts and someone is naked, you damn-near-automatically hand him one or two of your shirts."

Again, you mis-understand.

In our culture, if you have more than you need, and someone takes it, it is still stealing, whether they are in need or not. However, in many other countries, it is not considered stealing. The definitions are different.