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U.S. Labor Force: One Foot in the Third World
Chronicles Magazine ^ | Tuesday, June 07, 2005 | Paul Craig Roberts

Posted on 06/07/2005 8:14:42 PM PDT by A. Pole

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Comment #281 Removed by Moderator

To: A. Pole
Not a single one of these jobs produces an exportable good or service.

Interesting, and worse than I thought. So, just how exactly are we going to get foreigners to buy more US made products so that we can turn our balance of trade deficit into a balance of trade surplus?

282 posted on 06/08/2005 8:53:42 PM PDT by SandyB
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To: snowsislander

From your table, it looks like wages went down from 1977 to 2005, where is all that "economic growth" that we have been told we were having? If wages went down from 1977 to now, and taxes went up in that same time frame, then we are worse off?


283 posted on 06/08/2005 8:57:00 PM PDT by SandyB
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To: CarrotAndStick
In May, the Bush economy eked out a paltry 73,000 private sector jobs

That only covers a week and a half of new immigrants. What are the other 127,000 immigrants that enter our labor force in May going to do? What are unemployed americans going to do if we are creating fewer jobs than the number of new immigrants entering our labor force?

284 posted on 06/08/2005 8:59:04 PM PDT by SandyB
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To: Nowhere Man

#270 Good post. Thanks for the ping. Will try to catch up tomorrow.


285 posted on 06/08/2005 9:54:13 PM PDT by Aliska
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To: oceanview
those 25000 GM workers who lose their auto jobs, they are going to be able to find other jobs at the same pay level. right?

I don't know. Are they overpaid, undereducated union employees with bad attitudes? Then probably not. Maybe if the union hadn't hamstrung GM with ridiculous work rules it's possible the company wouldn't be circling the bowl.

the US used to be a place where even a high school graduate could get a job, skilled or semi-skilled, and afford the basics of a middle class life - including a wife who did not have to work, and children.

Yeah, after WW II destroyed the manufacturing capacity of every country from France in the west to Japan in the east. If only we could go back to those days every high school graduate could make $100,000 a year. Too bad we can't go back to those days.

286 posted on 06/08/2005 9:56:07 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Karl Marx, the AFL-CIO and E.P.I. please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: jb6
Yeah, what a great accomplishment, 3 years after a recession and our debt laden economy squeezed out 4%

I'm sorry, listening to you whiners I thought our incomes were dropping. Guess you were wrong.

(of course this counts the top 2% who now make around 240 times the average salary).

Feel free to find info that proves all the gain was made by the top 2%. And please don't post any more graphs about India. It just makes me think about America's declining technical skills.

Ever find your book or did you make up the info about Americans making under $25,000?

287 posted on 06/08/2005 10:00:02 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Karl Marx, the AFL-CIO and E.P.I. please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: jb6; 1rudeboy; Mase; LowCountryJoe
Yeah, when you don't increase the minimum wage, inflation will reduce it's value. You had to go to business school to figure that out?

Yeah, I guess you missed the part about the government having to borrow $2.5 BILLION DAILY, 80% of which comes from foreign sources: primarly Japan and China.

You ever figure out the mistake in your above statement? Or are your math skills that poor?

Oh my god!! Computer programmers lost jobs after the tech bubble burst? That MBA is really paying off for you!!

Don't know what your software graph is supposed to prove.

The fact that the service trade surplus is shrinking doesn't prove that services are suffering, only that the surplus is shrinking. Try again?

By the way, I love that all these graphs are from the far left wing "think" tank E.P.I. What's wrong? Couldn't get any good graphs from the CPUSA website?

288 posted on 06/08/2005 10:20:06 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Karl Marx, the AFL-CIO and E.P.I. please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: Nowhere Man
Maybe we need some sort of "managed capitalism."

If the "managers" are going to be some of your math challenged friends on this thread, I weep for your "managed capitalism".

289 posted on 06/08/2005 10:22:41 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Karl Marx, the AFL-CIO and E.P.I. please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: SwankyC
Please tell me again how everything on Earth is made in America.

Please tell me again how 100% of WalMart's products are made in China.

I just paid my bills and need someone/something to laugh at.

You should laugh at yourself, everyone else is.

290 posted on 06/08/2005 10:24:28 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Karl Marx, the AFL-CIO and E.P.I. please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: jb6
Don't bother, he'll just tell you your math is bad and post the same old payroll chart (the richest 2% outliers included).

Were you two in the same math class? You've got a lot of the same weaknesses. Please, use your MBA smarts and get some info regarding median incomes in this country. That'll eliminate your outlier issue.

You might even be able to prove your point. I'm sure E.P.I. has a nice chart for you. LOL!!

291 posted on 06/08/2005 10:28:03 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (If you agree with Marx, the AFL-CIO and <B>E.P.I.</B> please stop calling yourself a conservative!!)
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To: jb6
You do understand that once dumping (that's what it's called) has cleared out the US competitors, prices will rise.

Not sustainable - the competitors would then start to come back.

292 posted on 06/08/2005 10:51:35 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Republican Wildcat

All depends what the barriers to entry are: knowledge base, heavy investment in heavy industry (particularly difficult if the equipment has been shipped overseas and new equipment is not readily available), brand name association, etc.


293 posted on 06/09/2005 3:31:57 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: Toddsterpatriot
Yeah, when you don't increase the minimum wage, inflation will reduce it's value. You had to go to business school to figure that out?

I guess you missed the point that increasing the minimal wage also has an inflationary pressure on the rest of the market (not to mention it's a rather socialist edict you're pushing).

294 posted on 06/09/2005 3:33:19 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: Toddsterpatriot
Oh my god!! Computer programmers lost jobs after the tech bubble burst? That MBA is really paying off for you!!

I guess you're hard of comprehension, didn't go to analytical thought class, did you? Yes, programmers lost jobs, while demand and imports from India shot straight up.

295 posted on 06/09/2005 3:34:10 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: SandyB

By putting equalizing tariffs on their goods till they drop the protections from their markets (something China has never done even though required by WTO)!


296 posted on 06/09/2005 3:36:11 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: SandyB

Where was the growth? Stick around long enough and Toddsterpatriot will shove his increase in minimal wage table as proof of "growth". He'll also post how exports under NAFTA grew (true) without showing how imports grew several fold faster (just count the credits not the debits).


297 posted on 06/09/2005 3:37:50 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: Toddsterpatriot
I don't know. Are they overpaid, undereducated union employees with bad attitudes?

Union employees are less then 15% of the labor force and dropping, that excuse is worn out and tired. The 60 THOUSAND or so jobs lost in furniture manufacturing (now in China) from NC were not Union jobs, they're people (many of whom) are now sitting on welfare unemployed and thanks be we can save a dollar or two on cheaply made Chinese junk furniture while paying out ten or twenty dollars in extra taxes or debt spending to cover the terminally unemployed. Whoopy. As always, you and yours ignore the social costs that society has to pick up and pay, that out weigh the few dollars saved.

298 posted on 06/09/2005 3:40:53 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: Toddsterpatriot

Walmart sucks up 10% of China's exports, that's roughly $20 billion a year, makes up 2-3% of America's economy and forces suppliers to eventually move to China by demanding yearly 5% cost cuts, till they can't afford to be in America anymore. But you already knew that.


299 posted on 06/09/2005 3:42:12 AM PDT by jb6 ( Free Haggai Sophia! Crusade!)
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To: WFTR

Ya chemical engineering I believe was our government having anti-development policies. Its going to be interesting to see what happens in the next 25 years in industries like nuclear power.

Its my opinion we will need a major build up of energy production.. And of course transmission is a big issue. Its silly right now in America we have increasing power costs each year. Where as you look at every industry in the free market, costs fall year after year. Whichever nation is the most pro-development with energy gets a big advantage because power for their industry and even now IT is cheaper.

One place there is big demand for engineers is for electrical engineers. My father works in that profession, and htey are having a difficult time finding electrical engineers. Especially with some management experience. And the big wave of retirements hasn't even started, most of the current engineering staff are in their mid-50's in the power industry.

Then there is nanotechnology where again you need a large pool of engineers. I fear we will lose out on that to the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese.


300 posted on 06/09/2005 3:56:54 AM PDT by ran15
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