[XBob]

357 - "You're missing my overall point. Your cost of living argument's solution leads right back to the government, which is my overall point. And I'm talking federal, state, and local levels of government. The taxes, regulations, fees, et al. are the real problem. If they aren't addressed, what's the point?"

So, you don't think other countries have governments to support? Governments which take a similar share of their GNP to ours? How do you think they keep a society going? Taxes, in one way or another, are universal. It may be the protection money you pay to the bandit down the street so he won't shoot you (in some other countries), but they are costs of doing business. Backsheesh please, at the point of a gun !!

Sorry, but you are wrong. The major problem is not the government, it is the cost of living variations. The government regulations are just icing on the cake.

Now, how do you propose to reduce the costs of the workers here, so they can compete. Reducing their costs by 25 or 50% by eliminating regulations does not do nearly enough. How do we get the cost of that apartment from $500 per month here to the $10 per month overseas?

Workers have a cost of doing business too, in providing that labor - that is their business.

I spent many years living and working in 3rd world countries. You don't know what you are talking about.

My argumnent does not lead back to government regulation, it leads back to you, super capitalist, because you will have no customers for your products, and no country to sell them in, if we do it your way, and you will bankrupt all of us.

Reduce the costs to the workers here to the level of the chinese, then make your profits on that.

So how do you reduce the cost of that apartment you are renting to your worker, so he can compete? You should, no make that NEED, to compete too in this drive to the bottom, just like the US worker.

How are you going to do it, so you can stay in business?

[cyborg]

I think after government regs have been slashed as much as possible it will be still be different. I'm not sure if USA and Chind and India can even compare. Forgive the simplistic opinion but I'm sure not much outsourcing goes to Ireland because the cost of labor is a lot like here.

[ninenot]

"Cost-of-Living" and "Gummint costs" are kind of a chicken/egg thing. One can easily argue that the cost of living is hyped by reg/tax costs--but that's only part of the story, as the labor cost for building apartments in Sudan is quite low, too.

However, we SHOULD agree that the West's understanding that the capital/labor equasion should be BALANCED is the nub of the argument here--IOW, that in a rightly-ordered society, neither Capital nor Labor should dominate, but that both should work together.

The offshoring phenomenon is Capital's revolt against the ideal.