Two words: Illegal aliens.
As the economic downturn shed 4.3 million American jobs, employment for illegals added 1.1 million. It really is as simple as that. And it is why the Chamber of Commerce has become the enemy of the American worker.
Who wants to hire when there are:
Increasing energy and raw materials costs
Obamacare on the horizon
Global warming legislation
Potential for forced unionization
All the above affecting your customer base
The New York Times trying to figure out why the economy is slow is like the Nazis trying to figure out why the Jews are disappearing....
Wall Street exists in their own world, far removed from the realities of Main Street. The next financial crash could very likely happen prior to the end of 2011, but you won’t hear that from commission-based stock brokers.
Tax the profits for social security avoided.
American companies who import products made by workers in other countries when Americans are unemployed should have to pay employee and employer social security amounts. There used to be 15 employees supporting each retiree - there still is, only 12 are in other countries.
Profits often rebound after a prolonged recession. It is a sign of fiscal tightening by businesses, public and private, using the tools of fiscal economy to insure a return-on-investment for the owners. Inventory is worked through and then ordered "just-in-time" for what business volume remains, extra employees and new employees are cut or not considered to keep labor and administrative cost low. Capital equipment is not purchases and outside capital for expansion is not paid for because no expansion is yet needed.
We know that should there be no retained earnings, growth cannot occur as business volume increases, and that is the common sense reason that profits, the property of the owner/investor, need to be earned and once earned, kept.
Much of this is all with the Marxist subversion that profits are ready for stealing by government which is entitled to anything it wants.
If the market is unfettered, that is what makes volume and hence employment. A fettered market, unable to plan and unable to move dramatically for the chasing of profits is adverse to risk because the risk versus return ratio is so high.
If I am selling apples and I make more profit, I put it in my pocket and bury more in the back yard -- I also work harder to bring more apples to my stand. I don't go hire my brother-in-law saying to myself, "I have enough money, dumb George needs an income."
Profits of a worthless dollar.
China does not guarantee you a job; if you can’t find work on your own, tough - you don’t work
- China does not guarantee you a home; if you can’t afford a house or apartment, then the street is your bed
- China does not guarantee you food; no job, or lost your money? Time to starve or pick through the trash
- China does not guarantee you health care; broke your arm? Well, pay your copay first and then the doctor will see you
And so on. In fact, most of what we in the US take for granted, or assume that the Government will give us (or in the case of health insurance, should give us) is not guaranteed for the average Chinese “Communist”.
In the US, if you lose your job, you get unemployment insurance and the Government will retrain you; in China, you go find your own and learn your own skills, no coddling here.
In the US, if you lose your house or cannot afford one then there’s always section 8 housing for you; in China, better find a friend or family member to take you in or you’re out on your own.
In the US, if you cannot afford food, we give you food stamps and Government cheese; in China, it’s the grace of friends and family or you’re eating grass.
In the US, if you need medical treatment, walk in to any hospital and you get treated, even if you cannot afford it; in China, they’ll gladly see you right after you pay the cashier your initial copay to see the doctor.
In the US, if you risk your funds and it pays off, the Government demands a share of the profits via the capital gains tax (of course, they didn’t take any risk in the investment initially); in China, you get to keep the profits of your wise investments.
......... Here is where it gets interesting... Above I made some comparisons between the US and China, with regards to jobs, housing, food, medicine. What we see is that the US is further along the scale of “freedom - to - communism” than China! And it’s not just in those areas.
Consider business. In China, you can just set up a shop and start - no license needed if you don’t plan on hiring someone else, or don’t sell to another business (where your transaction would be B2B, and taxed). Buskers, no problem. Street vendors - have at it. Good luck trying that in the US!
How about taxation? China taxes you nominally on your income, with a high “standard deduction”; but it is on salary only. It is NOT on all forms of income! If most of your income is in bonuses - even monthly - then you pay no income tax. No capital gains tax for gains made outside of China. Heck, if you earn a lot for another company, then that company must withhold for you, and you don’t even have to file tax forms.
China makes most of its taxation on the VAT/Business-to-business tax. It’s 17% on reported invoices between businesses. I say reported, because there isn’t really any enforcement here in China. You don’t have to report your sales; of course, that means the purchaser doesn’t receive an “official” (reported) invoice, so they cannot use it for tax deduction purposes. But if that’s OK with both sides of the transaction, it goes “free” - not reported.
For exports, China sets the B2B tax rate at 6%, thereby encouraging companies to export, since they can make 11% more on the same product sales. And people wonder why the Chinese are so fixated on exporting - it’s a “free” 11% additional income for them!
Overall, China’s not the Communist hell-hole most Americans think. In many ways, it’s much more capitalistic and free-market and libertarian than the US! http://simplyshrug.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:the-myth-of-communist-china&catid=31:general&Itemid=50
Profit and jobs have no relation to each other!
If you can automate a process and improve profit by firing someone you do it!!
No one hires anyone to give them a job except government!
Are profits really up or is the dollar just way down?
Industry isn’t expanding because of the great uncertainty that is hanging over the country due to the over wrought regulatory environment of the Obama administration. Everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop, or Obama to leave
office.
Michael Powell and the NYT are morons. Who would hire now when you don’t trust or know the cost in the near future?
Obama administration hands down rule limiting contract bidding to union shops
By Aleksandra Kulczuga - The Daily Caller Published: 3:28 AM 04/15/2010 |
It’s official — federal agencies can now require that contractors be unionized to bid on large federal construction projects. A ruling sent down by the White House on Tuesday finalized an Executive Order President Obama signed last year, which promotes the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on federal contracts. PLAs are pre-hire, collective-bargaining agreements with unions that establish terms of a large contract.
Supporters say PLAs ensure stability on large-scale projects by preventing strikes and delays. Economist Jared Bernstein blogged on the White House Middle Class Task Force Web site, “PLAs also help ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health, equal employment opportunity and labor and employment standards.”
Critics argue they needlessly raise costs and are a handout to unions.
“Essentially the administration is picking winners and losers, and we have 25 percent unemployment in the construction industry,” said Ben Brubeck, director of labor and federal procurement at Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction trade organization.
More than 85 percent of the construction industry is not unionized. While the ruling is not a mandate, it encourages agencies to require union labor on any projects with more than $25 million in federal funding.
PLAs require that all contractors who want to bid pay union wages and benefits. They effectively prevent non-union shops from bidding.
“As a public works company we’re already required to pay a prevailing wage,” said Mark Compton, director of government affairs at American Infrastructure, a heavy construction company in Worcester, Pa. “It’s not an issue of us paying people less, the idea that you get away with paying employees less than federal wages is just inaccurate.”
Prevailing wage laws are set at the local level for employees in various industries. Employers have to provide certified payrolls for projects that have prevailing wage requirements.
“We work alongside unions a lot, they often subcontract to us — it’s not a matter of who is capable or not. We have a lot of respect for them and many contractors in the area choose to be union. Because our employees did not opt for union representation we are at a disadvantage,” Compton said.
American Infrastructure employs 1,500 people and says 80 percent of its contracts involved some level of state or federal funds.
Compton said PLAs stifle competition: “If it’s your home, would you rather have five bidding or two? I’m not here to tell you the unions aren’t qualified to do this work, we compete against them every day and sometimes they beat us and sometimes we beat them, but eliminating competition is discrimination.”
“PLAs raise costs — you’re looking at four schools for the price of five, or four bridges for the price of five,” he said.
“We have to go back to our employees, who are taxpayers, and tell them that they aren’t good enough to work on a project that is funded by their tax money,” said Compton. “Some of them have 10, 20, 30 years as a taxpaying employee of our company, and I have to tell them we can’t bid on these jobs now.”
The purpose of being in business is to make money. Hiring people and making less money is counter productive.
Yesterday a blonde Teamsters union skag was commenting on Walmart unionization efforts said “they make millions. They should pay their workers a living wage”
The reporter asked her if there were chains tieing the clerks to the cash registers of if they were free to leave.