Posted on 09/10/2004 2:36:36 PM PDT by Willie Green
Only those lacking creativity think that competition with the Third World equates to lower wages for American workers.
Competition creates innovations that protect worker salaries and lower product costs at the same time.
Good point. Japanese know it, Chinese know it, Europeans know it. USA is following example of Latin America.
Sounds like the same refrain we heard from those lamenting the loss of the "family farm". We changed from an agricultural society to an industrial society. We can transform from an industrial society to whatever is next without a left turn.
I do not get it, how the innovations can protect higher salaries in the global economy? Please explain.
Whatever is next? Socialism?
Sorry, but the auto industry is a prime example. Product life cycles are down to 3-4 years, profits are high and wages are peaked.
I think it's clear that not only is Kerry dangerous as C-in-C--but he's also an imitation of GWB on the question of American industrial/trade policy.
Given that, the choice is clear.
Frankly, the only "we" he could be referring to is everyone here...
Eroding the income of workers in the US will serve to erode the income of everyone ELSE in the US--their doctors, dentists, butchers, clothiers, on and on...
Only Gummint workers and utility employees will be able to demand and get (at least temporarily) wage stability or inflation.
But that won't last forever, either.
So do not ask for whom the bell tolls.../It tolls for Thee.
Let's look at the auto industry. Through innovations like computer design, automated manufacturing processes, plastics, etc the US auto industry is strong. Consumers have more choices in vehicles, profits are high, life-cycles are short and quality is at its best.
If we would have listened to the protectionists in the 1980s, our car companies would have been protected, stagnant and dead meat when finally exposed to Japanese competition.
You did not answer my question.
In the 60s, product life cycles were 3-4 years, profits were high and so were wages.
Instead of low-cost workers, why can't we have low-cost executives?
And if this trend persists, prepare for a landslide victory for Hillary, or worse, in 08.
In short: NAFTA
You asked how innovation protects salaries in a global economy. The auto industry wages are higher than ever, yet they compete with extremely low-wage nations every day.
No. Product life cycles in the auto industry in the 1960s averaged 7-10 years. A new car took 5+ years to design and bring to market. Today, it takes 3 years to bring a new car design to market.
Actually, we do. Executives today are getting much lower salaries than in the past. They are getting bonuses for performance (that workers resist for themselves) and executives end up with total compensation packages that are all all-time highs.
I think you have that backward --- labor shortages lead to innovations which increase productivity --- unlimited, very cheap labor doesn't lead to innovations.
One reason a country like the USA took to machines was because of limited cheap labor, countries like Mexico with abundant cheap labor had no need in machines and stayed inefficient.
I agree. However, today you can find cheap labor by moving overseas. Innovative executives are looking for alternatives to moving overseas because they are Americans as well and they do not want to see the jobs leave.
Anybody who wants to claim that the majority of American Corporate Executives have no allegience to this nation are just misinformed. Most do not want to move jobs overseas. They are forced by lack of innovation, restrictive labor contracts, or restictive regulations.
Cheap employees don't make an industry sharp --- and another thing is they don't make the product especially cheap. In the 70's it was possible to buy a new car made with all well-paid American labor for $3000 to $6000. Today with all that $0.25 to $0.50 an hour foreign labor a car can cost over $30,000 --- labor costs drastically fell but the cost of the product to the consumer radically rose.
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