And what would one expect in a globalized world in which moving goods from one
part of the globe to another presents no problem, in which communications
instantaneous and where labour costs are much lower abroad than at home?
The global world of commerce and production is becoming increasingly unified.
To the extent that many CEOs etc. still care about labour, it is finding low
cost labour abroad that gets their attention not high cost labour at home.
High-caliber labour at home can come up with some marvelous new electronic
gadgetry that everybody wants, but don't expect the gadgets to be produced at
home.
A split is occurring in an economy like the US. The boss class increasingly
thinks globally while the underclass continues to think locally. Thank God
that Canada remains a hewer of wood and drawer of water. Jobs in commodity
production can't easily be moved abroad.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Hudson
To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION ; Michael Gurstein
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 3:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Futurework] FW: [SPAM] Where Are The Jobs? For Many Companies,
Overseas
The real point is this. Where are the new consumer products that America
could be making in order to sell to the Chinese and others and balance up their
imports?
But nor are European firms inventing and making these either. The truth is
that the industrial-consumer revolution has reached the end of its run. Most of
advanced country populations are as locked into their urbanized way of life and
their existing stock of goods) as ever peasants were locked into their feudal
way of life. Average wages have been declining for the last 30 years and unless
someone invents something more explosive than the iPad -- and several more --
then the drift will continue.
Keith
At 20:21 28/12/2010 -0800, Michael Gurstein wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Portside Moderator [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 7:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [SPAM] Where Are The Jobs? For Many Companies, Overseas
Where Are The Jobs? For Many Companies, Overseas
Associated Press
December 28, 2010
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132396866
Corporate profits are up. Stock prices are up. So why isn't anyone hiring?
Actually, many American companies are - just maybe not in
your town. They're hiring overseas, where sales are surging
and the pipeline of orders is fat.
More than half of the 15,000 people that Caterpillar Inc. has hired this
year were outside the U.S. UPS is also hiring at a faster clip overseas. For
both companies, sales in international markets are growing at least twice as
fast as domestically.
The trend helps explain why unemployment remains high in the United States,
edging up to 9.8 percent last month, even though companies are performing
well: All but 4 percent of the top 500 U.S. corporations reported profits
this year, and the stock market is close to its highest point since the 2008
financial meltdown.
But the jobs are going elsewhere. The Economic Policy Institute, a
Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs
overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The
additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to
8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international
economist.
"There's a huge difference between what is good for American companies
versus what is good for the American economy," says Scott.
To read more, go to
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132396866
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