You missed the entire point of my post. Without those Filipino rubber plantation workers ("offshore jobs," mind you) the U.S. auto industry wouldn't have existed -- at least not as large as it was.
Also, the American mineworkers were able to afford cars in a fairly short period of time.
Yes, when many of their jobs were lost to automation. And when these mines started producing raw materials that were used for things other than automobiles that these mine workers could not afford to buy -- like military hardware, large maritime vessels, etc.
Of course the boss will always have a higher standard of living than the worker.
That goes without saying. But I've got news for you -- the customer will always have a higher standard of living, too. If you look at almost any financial transaction involving a "producer" and a "customer," the producer will always have a lower standard of living than the customer unless government intervention alters that grim reality (farm subsidies are a good example of this).
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