[dennisw]

Gee off shoring perfectly productive and profitable manufacturing off shore was such a good idea. /sarc

More evidence how idiotic free trade is. You go to a self respecting nation like Korea, they do their utmost to keep jobs at home for Koreans. In the US we prefer to see them getting welfare

Automation-computerization-robotics is also destroying jobs and leading to more wealth concentration

[central_va]

Automation-computerization-robotics is also destroying jobs and leading to more wealth concentration

Which brings up a good point, offshoring was done and promoted to reduce labor costs. So if the plant is updated and automated, what was the purpose of offshoring to the turd world in the fist place?

[Nowhere Man]

More evidence how idiotic free trade is. You go to a self respecting nation like Korea, they do their utmost to keep jobs at home for Koreans. In the US we prefer to see them getting welfare

Automation-computerization-robotics is also destroying jobs and leading to more wealth concentration

Well, we do need to bring back jobs by making it more business friendly here by lowering taxes and regulations, that's one step but we must also be like most other nations where they do keep their jobs at home as well. Automation is another threat as well, some nations do not go that route, like India, because they have so many people, they need to keep them employed. We all know, as do they, "idle hands are the Devil's workshop." When India did underground tests with A-Bombs, they did not use a lot of machines like we do in the West but they used many. many people with shovels to dig their holes.

It's either we understand that we need to suck up some pride and bring jobs back here, even if some methods go against established economic theory or we end up with a (much bigger) permanent underclass on the dole and/or doing nothing and have to resort to criminal activity to survive. As much as I don't like it, I cannot blame people who are in their 50's an above, sometimes younger, who just give up and go on disability. As much as I deplore it, I understand if that is what you do to survive. I think if automation continues, there will be a time where we might have to consider a negative income tax, ala Milton Friedman or some sort of guaranteed income ala "Star Trek." Still, putting people back to work somehow is the best way to do this, the best welfare program is a good, vibrant economy with plenty of jobs. Also, we need to bring immigration down to almost zero with few exceptions (like if one married a foreign spouse).

I understand that on paper, free trade should work but that is more for an ideal world where everyone is more or less on a sound footing, we do not have that, we may never will.