State factory loss a 'crisis,' panel says

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, February 22, 2004 | Len Barcousky

[Willie Green]

About 1,400 factories have closed in the state in the past three years, says the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.

"If this isn't a crisis, then that word has no meaning," said David N. Taylor, communications director for the association. He was one of seven panel members representing an unusual alliance of labor and business who spoke Wednesday at a Trade Sanity Town Meeting at Butler County Community College.

[templar]

"I see our sons and daughters fighting in Iraq to get rid of a ruthless dictator," said Bill George, president of the state AFL-CIO. "At the same time, we trade with China, which is run by a military dictatorship that uses prison workers and slave laborers."

Ya gotta understand, Bill, we get cheap consumer goods from China, we weren't getting anything from Iraq.

[Willie Green]

ping

[Chi-townChief]

Brief history of job loss crises:

late 50s - crisis
60s - not a crisis
early 70s - crisis
late 70s - not a crisis
80s - crisis
early 90s - crisis
90s - not a crisis
00s - crisis

[raloxk]

yup

[Zeppo]

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? How many factories closed in the state in the three years before that, or in fact, during the entire Clinton administration? How many manufacturing jobs were lost during that time? It's not possible to draw any conclusions from the folks quoted in the article, other than that the ones who are bloviating are clearly Democrats...

[Tribune7]

ping

[raloxk]

how about this americans? want to stop the trade deficit? Stop spending so much, buy foreign and US government securities.

As for manufacturing jobs, they will go waway just like Agriculture jobs did in the early/mid 20th century, however output will continue to rise.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Statement: "State factory loss a 'crisis,' panel says"

Response: The simply change the refering terms 'service jobs'to 'factory jobs.' People will not notice the difference. On this basis the politicians can keep things going for one more election cycle.

[Chi-townChief]

I was downsized during the "boom" in '98 when jobs were "just there for the asking." Yeah - tell me about it.

[e_castillo]

As for manufacturing jobs, they will go waway just like Agriculture jobs

I sure hope someone is left to build the tanks, planes and ships needed to fight the war on terror... Oh I forgot we can import them from our "friends" in china!

[nightdriver]

"Since China follows almost no environmental rules or labor laws, it can hold down its costs, he said."

And don't forget all the restrictive regulations, licensure and insurance costs that we have in this country that China can laugh at. Insurance alone costs me more than my Chineeeeese "equivalent" makes.

If the gubmint wanted to really help out, they would be relaxing some of these, but don't look for democRATs to do that, they have been the ones in favot of restricting those eeeeeeeevil manufacturers all along.

[BJungNan]

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? How many factories closed in the state in the three years before that, or in fact, during the entire Clinton administration? How many manufacturing jobs were lost during that time?

In the Pittsburgh region, it was not good before that either. Factories were closing. What seems to be the immediate crisis is that the last of the major factories that had professed their determination to remain "Made-in-America" have recently bolted for Mexico and China - R.D. Werner being a significant example (ladder manufacturer).

Interesting article at GoGov.com on this subject.

Pandering Buzzwords The latest buzzwords of the Democrat candidates is overseas outsourcing. The question is, how does a government prevent a company from outsourcing overseas?

The answer is, recreate a favorable business climate in the U.S. Contrary to popular myth, it is not cheap labor that finds companies locating overseas.

Many companies that set up factories overseas do not install much of the equipment that would routinely be used in a U.S. factory. The amortization schedule simply does not provide a payoff for the investment in the equipment. Instead, the machines are never used. In such instances, it is cheap labor replacing a machine - not U.S. workers.

What drives companies overseas are other costs of doing business in the U.S. such as onerous government reporting requirements, human resources policy management, and insurances to name a few. Any one of these line items of non-productive expenses can exceed the entire administrative cost of a medium sized factory located overseas.

If Kerry and Edwards [and the labor leaders] have something to say about outsourcing, let them tell us how they plan to stop the U.S. government from driving jobs overseas. As U.S. senators, they need only look in the mirror to see where the problem of lost jobs due to overseas outsourcing has been created.

[Temple Owl]

Don't worry about it. With all the pork Specter is bringing in, those jobs will not be missed. They will be replaced by a water taxi in Pittsburgh.

[raloxk]

"I sure hope someone is left to build the tanks, planes and ships needed to fight the war on terror..."

is there anyone left to grow the food we need?

The idea that the world's largest consumer market will be without manufacturing, is ridiculous

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Sen. John Kerry voted for NAFTA 10 years ago but recently has opposed creating a free-trade area to include Central America.

Feeling strongly both ways on NAFTA ain't nothing for someone who was a hero for both sides in the same war.

[Willie Green]

, but don't look for democRATs to do that, they have been the ones in favot of restricting those eeeeeeeevil manufacturers all along.

I don't expect Dubya to do it either.
Afterall, actually improving the competitiveness of domestic industries would interfere with the profitability of transnational corporations.

[Veracious Poet]

"What drives companies overseas are other costs of doing business in the U.S. such as onerous government reporting requirements, human resources policy management, and insurances to name a few."

Don't forget to mention the fact that cost-of-living in America is 10X higher due to parasitical factors that have nothing to do with producing anything? (e.g. high taxes spent to support over-paid gov't. employees and "elected" servants").

So many people are on the scam in the good ol' USA (darn workers want a "living wage", they should be happy with a bowl of rice like Chinese workers) it's impossible to make a profit for those shareholders that inherited their fortune from Grandma! :o~

[Zeppo]

I had not previously heard about Werner moving manufacturing to China. Interestingly, it seems that job losses to Mexico due to NAFTA largely occurred during the Clinton years. During the time that GWB has been President, Mexico has been losing jobs to China, and it has been much more likely that US manufacturing jobs were also going to China rather than to Mexico. When jobs are lost to China, it's hard to see how you can blame NAFTA, but that's exactly what Edwards has been doing recently.

[raybbr]

Oh, you blasphemous fool!! Don't you know that the future of America will be our children sitting in front of computers trading stocks all day. Why, they won't ever have to leave the house and they'll all be rich. The will have Mexicans to mow their lawns and clean the house - they will have Chinese to bring them food - they will have Eastern Europeans to sit their children - they will have Africans to help with the chores, etc.

Who cares if they get fat and lazy - that is just the continuing evolution of the American. They will eventually become nothing more than physical entities controlling the actions of billions around the world with the stroke of a key. Ah, the pure bliss of being able to "earn" money by staring a computer screen!!!