You are trying to put a larger share of blame on the UAW, but I still think that management takes the lion's share of the blame.
I think both management and labor share in the blame. Whether it's 50/50, 60/40 or 40/30 I don't know.
The global economy is changing. Some are benefiting, some are not. Again, what do you suggest?
Frankly, at this point, I don't have any suggestions. Its an intractible problem with no easy solution.
Ther's other consequences of slipping into a service economy. We lose that expertise in design, engineering and manufacturing. These are essential skills to maintaining defense and national security.
In the 208 years this country has been around, we have evolved from an agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy and now we appear to be sliding into a service economy. I'm not sure if that is bad or not. Jobs have always been lost as the economy has matured. The wagon wheel manufacturers of the 1890s either learned how to make wheels for Model T's or they went out of business. Some jobs were lost entirely - the old Buggy Whip Maker analogy. There always have and always will be dislocations due to shifting global economic winds.
My area is being affected currently by the closure of a call center that employs around 300 workers. I'm sure the reduction is due to economies related to cheaper labor in India and elsewhere. In an area with a population of about 30,000, that is a big hit. As for solutions, again, I don't presume to know what they are.
We need to be the premier designer and manufacturer of goods in the world.
We excel in some things. Microsoft operating systems run computers worldwide. (We won't get into the fact that our government wanted to punish Microsoft for its monopoly power in that arena). Since the post-war asendency of Japan, we have lost our edge in electronics and, as we have been discussing, automobiles.
In many manufacturing businesses, the cost of labor is a major factor. To do as you suggest, people need to accept that they will pay 25% more for a product that is manufactured here in order to support United States manufacturers. I don't think they will.
By the way, if you are a coffee drinker, do you pay the extra buck or more a pound to buy "fair trade coffee?"
We need more emphasis on education in the country. We are falling behind in math and science. We need to lead the world in High Tech, Bio tech, energy sciences and others.
I agree 100%. Our universities are not producing the software engineers needed by the high tech industry. What do we do, however, about the lack of college admission slots? The public university system in Washington is coming close to not being able to accommodate the students who want to go to college. Most people cannot afford a private school education and, if the public college slots dry up, what are they going to do?
Just some random musings on rainy a Sunday afternoon.
Orca |
