Though provoking article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all
Though provoking article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all
Aren't these the factories where people are committing suicide in droves because their lives suck so bad? You want to bring those jobs to the US?
They've had some suicides and attempted suicides. They have 400,000 people there. The rate is under what the US rate is, but it's still troubling."
How long will Chinese workers put up with this? I wonder?
Before Mr. Obama and Mr. Jobs said goodbye, the Apple executive pulled an iPhone from his pocket to show off a new application — a driving game — with incredibly detailed graphics. The device reflected the soft glow of the room’s lights. The other executives, whose combined worth exceeded $69 billion, jostled for position to glance over his shoulder. The game, everyone agreed, was wonderful.
... The sad thing is while many people find using or playing with these gadgets fun, not too many Americans want to sit down at a tedious factory job to build them. And the richly paid and more rewarding jobs of designing them are few, and only go to the most talented. So, what's there for the masses to do? What is the solution?
Welfare, and/or selling drugs and women. Then there is always panhandling. Or the guy who stands on the corner dressed like the Statue of Liberty, advertising Liberty Tax Preparation Service. Many opportunities , for the right individuals. However, we ERs will be screwed if we ever mess up.So, what's there for the masses to do? What is the solution?
"A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day"
And exactly why should be want to to copy this type of approach to the working classes? How long will Chinese workers put up with this? I wonder?
I suspect that the workers are young - say, 20's or 30's. I think things will change as the population ages. I don't have it me to be awakened from a sound sleep to work for a 12 hour shift. It just isn't sustainable.
Like Jobs said, this work is never coming back.
Ha
And I think the long-term prosperity and sustainability of the American middle class -- and maybe even the stability of our political and economic systems -- will depend on how we address this over the next decade or two.The future of America appears to include lots of good jobs for high-skilled workers, lots of crappy service jobs for low-skilled workers, and not much in between.
And I think the long-term prosperity and sustainability of the American middle class -- and maybe even the stability of our political and economic systems -- will depend on how we address this over the next decade or two.
And I think the long-term prosperity and sustainability of the American middle class -- and maybe even the stability of our political and economic systems -- will depend on how we address this over the next decade or two.
As individuals, most on this board have elected to put their cash to work in investments so their income can stay stable or maybe even rise over time as their work income decreases. This same technique could offer quite a buffer for America as a whole: our own decreasing wages from labor (due to expected lower hourly pay rates resulting from international competition) could be offset by investment income derived from the same companies doing the hiring overseas.
But, it can't happen as long as Americans continue to spend almost everything they earn. Those who choose not to put their resources to work must continue to work for resources.
Yep. The time for all this saving and investing was over the last 50 years. Still, not everyone is at $10 an hour yet--but the ones doing better still aren't doing much saving.Low wages will definately decrease the upward mobility of people starting out without capital though.
It's slow going to build up investment income when you make $10/hr.
Democracy in action!It appears to me that with modern technology and the globalization of commerce, China will soon catch up to the US in terms of societal problems we are facing.
Democracy in action!
I was afraid that we'd have to sell them Rockefeller Center and Pebble Beach