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I'm not avidly pro-union, but I firmly believe in management's resolve to crap all over workers whenever possible. If we're talking about an a office job, who cares...suck it up or leave. If you're a coal miner...different thing.

Waaagh_Gonads wrote:I'm sick of chinese rubbish that breaks after a few uses.

I'd rather pay a (realistic) premium for quality that the rubbish we get now.

If that's really the case, then feel free put your money where your mouth is, and actually buy higher-quality goods in lieu of the lowest cost stuff you're currently buying. Don't pussy-foot around with your "realistic" premium. Pay the actual premium that's required to get the level of quality that you want, and deal with it. Otherwise, don't complain.

Most Chinese stuff is of quite good quality, provided you're willing to pay for it. If you're just buying the cheapest possible items, then like anything, you're getting what you paid for, and you're getting what you deserve.

And just wait, next on your list of countries making cheap stuff that you're not happy with will be Vietnam. Why? Because Chinese costs are going up, and Vietnam is next down on the ladder.

The problem with not making clothes in China, is that now the Chinese have no industry, and they all go penniless.

Why do some companies relocate to a different state in the US? A lot of times, it is because of lower taxes, tax breaks, and/or lower cost of living - which means they can pay less. Same with outsourcing. If it costs less to have someone in Asia make widgets and ship them to the US, Europe, etc. than it costs to make widgets in that location - the business is going to do that. And to some degree, they have an obligation to do it, since the shareholders expect them to make a profit. So, while long-term, it may hurt the country, if in the short term, it helps the corporation - that's not a hard decision for the corporation.

The jobs that are gone won't be back. New jobs will become available though. There's a growing industry for utilities (both construction, maintenance, and management) due to the growing demands for electricity (which would include the coal mining industry in most of the US), replacement/maintenance of an aging infrastructure, and changing regulations (disposal of waste products, etc.). Health care is in high demand, as are other fields.

Unions have their place in the US. They are great for safety issues, for finding available labor with a certain skill set, and often provide health care to families who wouldn't otherwise get it. Unions need to work with companies, and too often, it's an adversarial relationship. If the company goes bankrupt, no one has a job. So while it's unappealing to lay people off, sometimes that's necessary. Often time people think companies are just looking for their bottom line - and they have some duty to be profitable. But, they're not necessarily out to 'stick it' to their employees either.

Cant say this really concern me, I work in the public service department. And I have VERY secure job, but I can see why people wonder about this if they work in a small/medium private firm and so on.

Jebus.

Jobs exist because they either provide a service or product people are willing to pay for... for the last 15 years we have been spending money we don't have (thank you credit and mortgage industry). Now, there is less available credit...yes, that means less available capital. No capital to purchase means less need for the jobs that produce services and goods.

Right now, corporate america is waiting for the consumer to "begin spending again"...as if we aren't. What we aren't doing is "over spending." We are spending on essentials rather than $40k SUV's and $2k flat screens...

Jobs are tied to available consumer capital....they have nothing to do with hiring illegals or unions or outsourcing.

What everyon eis going o have to internalize is that the U.S. will NEVER have the types of job growth we saw in the 90's...why? Because we will likely NEVER have that amount of available capital again (that means available credit).

So how then do we create jobs? Simple... Make or do something people want or need or are required to have. The make or do ought to b ehandled by private industry (though they havebeen failing pretty miserably lately) the "are required to" part is the govt interjecting itself into the market place to force the movement of capital.

Each has its merits and problems. But that is getting into political territory.

ender502