Barak Obama's Labor-day speech

Obama's speech

"I don’t want to see solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars made in China. I want them made right here in the United States of America. I don’t want to buy stuff from someplace else. I want to grow our exports so that we’re selling to someplace else — products that say “Made in the U.S.A.”

Amen! Hope he means it and pray that he can deliver it.

Land of Opportunity turning barren

Rex Nutting says in Marketwatch, "With millions of people twiddling their thumbs waiting for a job, the Land of Opportunity is in danger of becoming barren. Nearly three years into our economic wilderness, we still can't seem to find our way out. Fifteen million Americans are looking for work, and most of them know the job they once had is gone for good. Millions more are working, but need something better than part-time hours or a dead-end job .... "

But Rex pointedly misses or declines to mention the direct corelation between our trade deficit (and the resultant job exports), and American unemployement rate (and the consequent decline in the quality of life of lower middle class Americans which is also in direct proportion to the rise of the new lower middle class in India and China).

Unless we sell more than we buy we will be broke - so its time we go back to school for Adam Smith and Economics 101 because we've obviously forgotten the basics.

A case for stimulus

"OUR national debate about fiscal policy has become skewed, with far too much focus on the deficit and far too little on unemployment" - Laura Tyson

Ms. Tyson's essay merits attention but doesn't address the American need fully. China and India are rich because they export product and import opportunity. We need to copy that economic model because ours is not working.

The Onion says

Still not even a twinkling of light at the end of the tunnel for the unemployed and under-employed Americans and for the general prospects of American economy. But rather than citing more morose facts, here's the Onion on our state of economic affairs:


Treasury Department Issues Emergency Recall Of All U.S. Dollars

Stocks drop after sharp fall in July home sales

"Without a boost in job creation, (buyers) just won't have the confidence to step in and buy a new home," David Katz, principal at Weiser Capital Management said.

The same old bad news requiring simple solutions: more jobs in America which means more manufacturing in America, less outsourcing and offshoring and higher levies on imports with a reminder that roaring Indian and Chinese economies are manufacturing based.

American Apocalypse

David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, equates GOP's economic policies with the "American Apocalypse"

He is equally critical of Democrats' large government and spending process.

Andy Grove has expressed a similar sentiment, as has Robert Reich.

Protecting our own interest is not any more protectionist than protecting our borders. Protecting American economy therefore Americans is a matter of national self interest and needs bipartisan committment to boost local manufacturing and job creation. If that means taxing imports and job exports then that needs to be done strongly like our response to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

China beats us - again

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/27/technology/china_clean_energy.fortune/index.htm

I quit - being optimistic about America. First we said (lied) that we will only export low skill manufacturing jobs (which destroyed our factories and families dependent on those factories).

Then we sent away call center, research, analysis, processing, programming jobs with a promise that that won't hurt us a bit as we'll be doing other high paying jobs - which was a lie as not even .1% have been able to transition from a CSR to a high paid project manager or something/ anything high paying.

And now CNN reports that China has left US behind in developing and deploying clean, green technology. So from toys to turbines we lag and we still don't realize we have a problem?

The problem is Wall Street, its White House and they are a problem because you all/ we all don't do a fuck about it - don't vote for those who support globalization and refuse to do business with firms that outsource processes and export jobs - or be pulverized by Asia. Your choice.

On Immigration

Some say that immigrants take away jobs from Americans.

How many American nurses and computer programmers are out of work because of cheaper immigrant labor, and how many American doctors are unemployed because of Indian doctors? And how many American gardeners and laborers are jobless because of Mexicans or Vietnamese?

In most cases the answer is negligible.

Is it better to have immigrants here doing jobs in America, paying taxes, shopping at American stores, building American economy or we should export jobs to keep out immigrants? Is that not like cutting our nose to spite our face?

We have failed to create high demand jobs. Other countries have created affordable career education directly linked to international industry demand patterns, therefore foreign nurses, doctors and computer programmers in America - and that's why more job exports because now the same trained work force is available in cheaper currencies in their native countries.

The answer is not fighting immigration. It is creating a competitive work force right here in America by making education affordable. If the States dealing with millions of unemployment claims got proactive about educating the unemployed ONLY in in-demand careers situation would improve but they are not, that is why we are not seeing a reduction in the unemployed ranks. Which State is going gung-ho on programming, nursing, project management, SAP, Oracle training? None, and those training courses are priced out of reach of most, but in India they are not, so we are pricing education out of reach of most Americans, and blaming Immigrants on our woes. Silly, isn't it?

As far as undocumented workers are concerned they are an easy target. If they went away would Americans take up $7 jobs, or want more because they are worth more? Not taking a cheap job and not being able to get a higher paying one is our problem, and no Immigration bill will fix it. Affordable education, taxes on imports and companies exporting jobs will fix it.

America read this

If you must read 1 story, and subscribe to 1 blog then this is the one:

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-american-people-dont-need-more-handouts-what-they-need-are-good-jobs/comment-page-1#comment-7746

It may sound obsessive, but with 10 million Americans out of work, a huge trade imbalance that no one is addressing, and no clear solution in sight to stem job erosion its time to get obsessive, so get obsessed about saving our country by fighting to save our jobs.

Why do we not do what we must??

So Obama is extending unemployment benefits. Great - really for those who need it it's a must have as no one sits on their ass doing nothing thriving on unemployment benefits, you can't thrive on pittance, though pittance puts some of the food on the table - I know it from experience, so thanks Mr. President, but this isn't enough, nor is the Wall Street fix bill, what's needed is JOBS, so why do we as a people not boot out, boycott those who are the reason for our misery, those who export jobs and import goods which shut down American factories?

In its boom time in 50s-60s America was an industrial nation producing most of what it consumed and Americans were able to afford to buy Made in America because they earned wages according our standard of living. Now the greedy have shifted jobs abroad so they do not have to pay good wages and benefits to Americans and to do business with such people who rob us of our jobs is plain stupid.

Ask those campaigning for November elctions why are they silent on job exports (have they been bought by the enemies of the American people - the very rich powerful people and corporations); vote out anybody who supports globalization and job exports, stop doing business with banks and other businesses which have shifted call-centers (we can answer our own phones in this country) abroad, cut your Made in Abroad by 30% and designate 1 day every week to buy ONLY MADE IN AMERICA.

It makes total sense, so why do we not do what we must?

Asking Americans ...

Did you buy American today? If so, that was the smart, patriotic deed of the day. Let's all repeat that again tomorrow to create jobs and rebuild our country and lives.

If not then when will you stop the practice that creates trade deficit and job erosion, decimates the manufacturing sector and innovation in America?

God bless America, and may you be a part of those blessings. Listen to Andy Grove, he tells the truth as is.

Listen to Andy Grove, now!!

Pointless debating when the obvious has been obvious for years, now its imperative we as the people and our government as our representative and also responsible for our well being listen to Andy Grove, as not listening to him is continuing committing suicide. We've been fed a myth and Mr. Grove refutes it, baring the truth, that outsourcing manufacturing is not a panacea that it's made out to be but a guillotine that we created and use daily to kill our jobs and standard of living. So listen to Andy Grove, and Make it in America and buy Made in America, and also question (the motives and loyalties of) those who advocate job exports in today's day and time.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_28/b4186048358596.htm

"Clearly, the great Silicon Valley innovation machine hasn't been creating many jobs of late—unless you're counting Asia, where American tech companies have been adding jobs like mad for years.

As time passed, wages and health-care costs rose in the U.S. China opened up. American companies discovered that they could have their manufacturing and even their engineering done more cheaply overseas. When they did so, margins improved. Management was happy, and so were stockholders. Growth continued, even more profitably. But the job machine began sputtering.

That means for every Apple worker in the U.S. there are 10 people in China working on iMacs, iPods, and iPhones. The same roughly 10-to-1 relationship holds for Dell, disk-drive maker Seagate Technology (STX), and other U.S. tech companies.

But what kind of a society are we going to have if it consists of highly paid people doing high-value-added work—and masses of unemployed?

How could the U.S. have forgotten? I believe the answer has to do with a general undervaluing of manufacturing—the idea that as long as "knowledge work" stays in the U.S., it doesn't matter what happens to factory jobs. It's not just newspaper commentators who spread this idea. Consider this passage by Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder: "The TV manufacturing industry really started here, and at one point employed many workers. But as TV sets became 'just a commodity,' their production moved offshore to locations with much lower wages. And nowadays the number of television sets manufactured in the U.S. is zero. A failure? No, a success."

I disagree. Not only did we lose an untold number of jobs, we broke the chain of experience that is so important in technological evolution. As happened with batteries, abandoning today's "commodity" manufacturing can lock you out of tomorrow's emerging industry.

The rapid development of the Asian economies provides numerous illustrations. In a thorough study of the industrial development of East Asia, Robert Wade of the London School of Economics found that these economies turned in precedent-shattering economic performances over the '70s and '80s in large part because of the effective involvement of the government in targeting the growth of manufacturing industries.

Levy an extra tax on the product of offshored labor. (If the result is a trade war, treat it like other wars—fight to win.)"

Why is Manufacturing Essential for American Well-being

Noam Scheiber - The New Republic

Noam Scheiber's "Why we should cry for our shrinking Manufacturing Sector" should be required reading for Policy Makers and All Americans - as many if not most (Americans) do not realize the impact of globalization and loss of manufacturing jobs on everyday life in America.

Since coming to the US in mid 80's I've personally experienced and observed a steady decline of income across mature industries. Each closed factory means not only displaced workers but also factory owners, who cannot or have not been able to make a transition from making towels and nuts to building a Google. I am not sure if there is an agency counting numbers like me who once were American middle class and now struggle to find jobs, but I know there are many treading bleak spaces, which will remain bleak unless we start making more things locally for our own consumption and ALSO sell in world markets because selling Boeing is not enough to offset the American trade imbalance.

Trade imbalance is a threat because in our case it equals shrinking employment base.

Wine, cheese, fashion, iPod, iPhone, small batch Bourbon prove that there is a whole lot of American enterprise and creativity creating products that China and India cannot make based on knowledge and cultural factors, therefor the key to is to develop small manufacturing across sectors to repair and rebuild the American Dream.

The proof that manufacturing and economic growth thus prosperity are related is India reporting 7.9% growth in its economy for 2009; and China going gangbusters, in these hard times - both large, diversified manufacturing nations.