[quote=carlsbadworker][quote=CA renter]
They are “our” jobs because the multinationals want to sell to us — we are still the most profitable market to them. We’re not talking about jobs that require math skills, but traditional manufacturing jobs. We used to make our own goods right here in the USA, and they were better and longer-lasting than the cheap, plastic, toxic crap that we now get from China.
The only reason OUR jobs have gone overseas is because labor is dirt cheap (and no pesky worker protections there, either) and environmental protections are almost non-existent. Let’s not fool ourselves here — the jobs have been going overseas in order to increase corporate margins. Americans are NOT getting any benefits from this “globalization,” so there is no need for us to continue with this failed experiment.
If they want to sell to us, then they need to employ us. No more games with debt masking our shrinking standard of living and reduced purchasing power. It’s really that simple.[/quote]
‘If they want to sell to us, then they need to employ us.” Who is us? American consumers have voted with their wallets on how they want the corporate America to conduct the business.
Yes, dirt cheap labor with no worker protection. But that’s exactly the reason they are entitled to these jobs, because workers there are tolerating such “abuses” in order to create a brighter future for themselves. If you think people who have that kind of spirit are less entitled to the jobs comparing to a bunch of whining American, and condemn these people to be jobless instead, I have nothing else to argue about with you.[/quote]
Hogwash. We haven’t voted with our wallets; we were FORCED to accept this crap from other countries. We don’t have a choice in most cases, as manufacturers have chosen to move their operations overseas *because their costs are lower there.* Even if Americans are willing to pay more for American-made products, local manufacturers still have a difficult time competing with companies that manufacture overseas because of the non-existent labor and environmental standards (and CHEAP labor, not “better qualified” labor) over there.
I want to buy a new washing machine, and cannot find one made in the USA, even though I’m willing to pay 2-3X what a foreign-made one costs.
By all means, people in developing nations should be free to improve their lot in life, but it should not be on the backs of American workers.
