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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (405907)	1/22/2011 11:17:03 AM
From: Katelew	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794043

I agree there are multiple variables. The age of our plant and equipment and the cost of replacement being one. You may be wrong on this, though. But since an American worker is so much more productive than a Chinese one, it takes less people. Production facilities in China are fabulously modern. Whole industrial parks have been built that include all the suppliers, too. Little shipping of parts zig zag across the country. Workers have the latest generation of equipment at their disposal. China had the advantage of coming late to the party. Its managers could pick and choose from among established production techniques. Its government was committed to grease the way for all of these facilities to have the best of plant and equipment. Aggregate Chinese productivity is probably lower than American. But relative to the manufacturing base, Chinese workers are very productive. They just have much lower wage and benefit packages that Americans must compete against. It's natural for Steel jobs to migrate if our companies don't invest the capital to get enough production per worker to overcome lower level labor. American companies are expanding by choosing to build production facilities in China. Huntsman Chemical alone is scheduled to build three or four. There's no getting around the fact that construction costs are lower as are labor costs. American worker productivity (if they really are more productive) can't overcome this. Did you know there is, however, a nascent onshoring trend in the US? Partly caused by the increased costs of transportation. Higher oil could nudge this along over time.

To: LindyBill who wrote (405907)	1/22/2011 1:22:27 PM
From: Whitebeard	Respond to of 794043

Yeah, great, Bill, but it's hallowed out America. All 30 or so years of make believe "retraining." Completely destroyed the working glass. What's left of them are coddled union employees. Unemployment is now structural, from 4% to 10%. Not everybody can be an engineer or, God forbid, a lawyer. So I'm thrilled the average Joe can buy cheap Asian goods at Walmart, but he's trying to figure out how to do it with an ever decreasing paycheck. Those that are still trying to find work anyway. Illegals squeeze the hell out of the working guy, too. The Dems don't care, esp. now, because the white working class has turned against them, and, even better, all those illegals vote dem. where's the equity? Where's a way out? The Republicans with their love of cheap labor? The working class is so screwed and it's been in your face, going on since the late 70's.