American- JOBS- (What went wrong.)
American- JOBS- (What went wrong.)
Like you, I have been following the TOP news stories of the day:
Will the Baucus Health bill get passed..?? It is lurching forward like an old man looking for soup.
And we were PROUD when President Obama brought home the Nobel Prize for Peace. Because NO ONE expels “peace” like America, (and we will beat the crap out of you if you disagree.)
So I was bouncing back and forth between BIG news stories on David Letterman and Iran…
When a “chicken” forced me to take a good look at American jobs.
A “chicken”..??
Yes, a “chicken.”
A news “source” told me that the Chinese have an “exploratory team” in America, searching for a franchise to SELL Chinese raised chicken.
The Chinese believe that they can sell chicken in America. (And do it at a lower cost, then an America poultry producer can.)
OK, let’s stop for a moment. Let’s analyze what we have just learned.
How can it be CHEAPER for a chicken to be raised in China, butchered and processed. Then place on a truck, to be delivered to a large ship. Then shipped across the ocean to America. Then placed in a refrigerated storage facility, to then be loaded onto another truck and delivered to your neighborhood store..??
How can THAT be cheaper than raising the chicken in America, placing it on ONE truck, and delivering it to your store..??
WHAT THE HELL HAS GONE WRONG..??
I mean, even if the chicken farmer in China only makes a dollar a day, still; you have so many costs in delivery of this chicken to America, I cannot believe it is cheaper..??
But it is.
It is, because it is already happening with fish.
When you go out to you neighborhood restaurant to order dinner, you could be eating Chinese raised fish, and you do not even know it. (I know this to be a fact.)
My goal with this series of editorials on JOBS is NOT to name, names.
I am not here to attack the LARGE national grocery chain that “may” sell Chinese chicken in the future.
My goal is not to expose the BIG national restaurant chain that is selling you Chinese raised fish.
I am not interested in pointing a finger at the farmers market that is selling you tomatoes that were grown in Mexico.
No, what good would that do..??
My goal is to talk about a “system”, that has made it CHEAPER to raise, grow, or make these things in other countries, and ship them here to America.
Because this is the HEART. This is the starting point. This is the reason for a lack of JOBS in America.
We do not “make” anything in America, anymore.
We “sell” stuff. (We are VERY good at “selling” you stuff.)
We “service” things. (We fix the stuff that we sell, we help you hook up and operate the things that we sell.)
We “service” people. (With food, movies, doctors, prostitution, etc)
But we do not MAKE anything, anymore.
Now, I know that some of you could comment that: “..We still make train locomotives at GE..” Yes we do, but GE just laid off 1,400 workers related to that industry.
“..We still make American cars..” (Need I even speak to that..??)
You could say- “AR, we still make Boeing planes in America.” You would be correct, but they are experiencing tough competition from Airbus.
Yes, there are a few industries that remain an “American Made” product, and I solute them for it. Being a capitalist, I can understand how tempting it could have been to move your industry overseas and use cheap labor and take advantage of lower environmental standards. But, you stayed here in America, and I thank you for that.
(I just hope that you stick around a while longer, till we get our shit together..!!)
In my series of editorials on “American JOBS”, which I will be presenting this winter Blogging season (2009, 2010), We will talk about what went wrong, exactly what we can do to fix it, and how to start implementing this “fix” today.
(It’s interesting to note that the founding fathers experienced a situation similar to what we have today.) We will talk about what they did, to overcome their dilemma.
But that is for a future editorial on JOBS.
Today, as you may have already guessed, we are talking about:
American JOBS- “What went wrong?”
There are thousands of industries in America. My fingers would get sore, my eyes would get weak, and you would be bored to death, if we dealt with EVERY industry, and what went wrong with each.
It is better to focus on one industry that has similar characteristics to all, and dwell on that.
Let’s go back to our “chicken.”
The Chinese chicken
What went wrong..?? THE PROBLEM
(Problem ONE) Labor
This one is real easy.
If an American chicken producer’s helper wants $12 bucks per hour, while the Chinese chicken producer’s helper (doing the same job) gets $12 bucks per WEEK, that is the problem.
If the American worker wants $480 per week.
And the Chinese worker wants $12 per week…
We cannot compete with that.
There is no way..!!
However, we do not want to lower our standards. We want the American worker to make that, and much more. If we can.
(Problem TWO) Planes, trains, boats, and automobiles
If you cannot “ship” a product into your region, then you have no choice but to make, or raise the product yourself.
HUGE tanker ships have made it possible to ship goods around the world and only add a fraction to the cost of each idem.
This is something that our grandfather’s generation could never have conceived, and never had to deal with…
MASSIVE ocean going ships.
A global semi- tractor trailer system that uses GPS satellites to navigate and guide products to their destinations.
Planes, that can ship things “overnight.”
HUGE warehouses that can accommodate any idem, any time. Regardless of whether it needs to be stored at 70 degrees, or minus 70 degrees. No problem.
Our great- grandfather’s generation would have a small heart attack if they saw this system. For in their day, they had to guzzle down beer as soon as the barrel was tapped. (Because there was no way to keep the beer cold and keep it from going bad.)
(Problem THREE) “Give me liberty (and clean air) or give me death.”
Let’s face it, when we demand clean air, clear water, and undisturbed soil, we make it more expensive to build something in America.
When we demanded that “strip-mining” be stopped, we pretty much nailed the coffin shut on the steel industry in America.
When we restricted the use of mercury and certain acetones, we sealed the fait of the American textile industry. We do not make clothes in America, anymore.
When we beefed up OSHA standards, we crippled the American factory.
(We could go on, and on. But I believe that the point has been made.)
I must state that I do not believe in going backwards.
I love having clean water. I can’t imagine living in a country that you “cannot drink the water, or you will get sick.”
I like the fact that we have clean air, or that I can plant a tomato in the backyard, and not worry if the ground contains mercury, or PCB’s.
We need safe jobs.
No one is saying that we head backwards and lower our standards to compete with China or Mexico.
But, to find solutions to our problems, we MUST know what the problem is.
To provide a safe work environment, that doesn’t pollute the air and water…
To provide a decent wage to the workers…
To allow foreign competition, regardless of an “edge” they have over us, or how they treat their workers…
We have made it impossible to build a new factory here in America, and hire Americans.
We have made it impossible to create American JOBS.
Which leads us back to the Chinese chicken.
“..How can it be cheaper to raise a chicken in China, and ship it to American stores..??”
(We have answered that question.)
When the American worker demands 40 times more money, than the Chinese worker…
When the American poultry farm MUST meet certain EPA, OSHA, and environmental requirements…
When the food that is fed to American chickens can be controlled, and the meat will be inspected at a greater level…
When a boat ride across the ocean is hardly any factor in the cost of the Chinese chicken meat…
That is how it is cheaper to raise a chicken in China.
That, is the problem..!!
This, pretty much, concludes my first editorial on American JOBS.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this.
American JOBS, I believe, is the top issue facing our country, as we move forward.
The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are important. We cannot lose site of solutions there.
Health Insurance is also important.
However, JOBS are as vital as air and water.
Without JOBS, we cannot pay our taxes. Without taxes, we will never be able to provide health care “for all” and win these two wars.
My future editorials on American JOBS are tentatively titled:
American JOBS- “What went wrong.”
(You just read that one)
American JOBS- “Safety First” (What’s in my chicken..??)
(Due out, in about a week)
American JOBS- “The solution” (Dream, the impossible dream.)
and...
American JOBS- “Franklin, Adams, tell us what to do..??”
Written by AR Babonie for The Angry Republic
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You touched on something that I believe is very important... China doesn't have the FDA standards that most other countries do. We can't check EVERY chicken that comes into this country. So they might check 1 out of every 50..?? (Or 1 out of every 100..??) It's one thing to import DVD's and cell phones. I do not like seeing FOOD imported. Not when we have some of the most fertile land in the world. Thanks for the comment..!! |
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IMHO: I beg to disagree with the ongoing debate that education (USA Education) is the Only way we can rebuild the middle class. The Department of Education has been a money pit with little success. The Greatest Generation lived through the hard wars, sacrifice, the depression and never wanted that for their children. In doing so, they spoilt rotten, a whole generation and it started us down a road that said it was no longer dignified to work building roads or bridges, the elites took rise and put down people that were plumbers, welders, and farmers as less than them and society as a whole made it out that that work was below us and wages could not stay the course to compensate for the labor, so then we ushered in the Mexicans to do that low life work. We pushed education then as the be all, end all, at the same time we were dumbing down the requirements to succeed it was boring and dropout rates started climbing to pre-depression rates.Then here came the (baby-boomers) 60’s protesters, a generation that in the end, "freedom" turned out to be little more than the freedom from responsibility and commitment but the freedom to get it on. They went on in their parents footsteps coddling the next generation to work less and demand more. So here we are ... no better off, in fact, worse education wise than most third world countries. I think we have to tell the elites to go sit in the corner and let us bring back a dignity to the labor force by changing the way we feel about the skills. Today, it is hard for a factory to hire a kid that just dropped out of school at minimum wage when he has no skills when you can hire a couple illegals and most likely one will catch on fast. To train and invest time and money in a kid that is still wet behind the ears not even knowing if this is what he wants to do. Living in Sweden I came to appreciate their education system. (Now I have serious problems with their healthcare, nanny state, but that’s another argument!) When a kid in Sweden is in the 8th grade he has come to a sort of cross roads and they believe at this crucial time in development they can see the writing on the wall. Academics or Skills? Then they really teach skills so when they go to the work force, they walk in knowing how to build a car, construct a bridge, lay pipe, butcher a chicken, assemble a computer, or repair a vacuums cleaner, and they know before they walk into the factory doors that this is the work they enjoy and can start contributing on day one instead of wading in and being a burden on the employer. Also, the work force in Sweden are proud of their skills, and we need to acknowledge that our “things we sell, do sometimes need to be repaired” and respect the knowledge and labour of this force. I know a (40 something) lady now that was laid off after 12 years on the same job as a project manager so the solution has been to send her to school, paying her tuition, books, and gas to school. When she finishes after months and $1000’s of tax payer money, she will have a certificate saying she is qualified to do the same thing she did for twelve years. Geeze! . . . anyway that is my 2¢ for what it’s worth. Sorry if I rambled . . . |
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I agree with you that education is not the only answer. The youth unemployment figures are scary. (I think somewhere around 30% of young people are unemployed.) That would include college graduates. We can educate everyone to be rocket scientists, and that’s GREAT. But it doesn’t mean that there will be a job waiting for them. I started studying Abe Lincoln just last week. I wanted to know the “young Lincoln.” President Lincoln didn’t have much more than one year of schooling in his younger days. He taught himself the legal profession (with the help of an established attorney.) Great people will BE GREAT. It doesn’t matter how they grew up, or what school they attended. Some people are better working with their hands and can build great things. We shouldn’t listen to people like Bill Maher, who calls America- stupid. Education is important. We need people who understand modern technology to create new enterprise. However, as long as the “flood gates” are open, there is nothing to stop these new businesses from going overseas. There is a great painting of the young President Lincoln, done by Norman Rockwell. It is painted full size and towers over you. It is hard to take it all in. There is an axe in one of Lincoln’s hands. In the other hand, Lincoln has a law book opened, and he is reading as he walks. The painting is called: “The Rail-splitter.” (I’m not really sure why I mentioned this, it has nothing to do with this post..??) Oh..well. Talk to you again Bliss..!!
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Good start. I look forward to your upcoming blogs. I don't see this blog as having controversial content. |
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Thanks, I'm not sure why all my posts are listed as "controversial", I never hit that button at the top. Maybe it is the name of my site, or things I have written in the past..?? |
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great job on this by the way! |
There has to be an answer, a country that only imports will never be strong, there has to be exports. I'm looking forward to more of these posts! |
Thanks Charlie..!! Tariff's and taxes, I think, will have to be a big part of this. We really can't do anything about America wages, we HAVE to make a good wage..!! And we want clean air and water. What scares me is that we do not even know that we are eating Chinese raised fish. |
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lol, with three heads! |
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AR really enjoy following your posts. |
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I'm older than you, but I can related. |
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Chickens are not the prime example of import madness. That honor goes to cigarette manufacturing. Did you ever happen to read some of the labels on imported cigarette brands? "Made from 100% American grown tobacco." How is it possible to grow tobacco in Virginia, ship it across country to the west coast, put it aboard ship and send it to Korea. Then to have Koreans manufacture and package the cigarettes, put them back aboard ships bound for the USA and distribute those products nationwide at a price of about 70% of any American made brand? How is that possible? It might be a toss up as to whether it is unions who do the most to destroy our munufacturing base or the government but my guess is that it is the government by a super margin. (Did someone say soup? What kind of soup?) You're a smart guy but you might not have caught on to the government's latest big lie. The one that says they are considering a "value added tax". Value added taxes have existed since before I was born. The miner digs up the ore - and gets taxed. He ships the ore to the smelter - and the shipper gets taxed. The smelter turns the ore into steel - and gets taxed. The smelter ships the steel to the stamping plant - and the shipper gets taxed again. The stamping plant creates an auto part - and gets taxed. He ships the part to an auto manufacturer - and the shipper gets taxed again. The auto manufacturer adds the part to a car - and gets taxed. The car maker ships the car to a dealer - and the shipper gets taxed again. The dealer buys the car - and gets taxed. The dealer sells the car to you - and you get taxed. So where are they going to add a tax that does not already exist? I would estimate that if you removed all of these taxes and all of the taxes put on the employees up the line you could buy a $25,000 car for under $8,000. The same applies to a loaf of bread and just about anything else produced in this country today. My favorite is bean soup. |
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You are absolutely right. Taxes are a huge issue when talking about American jobs. One of the problems I run into when writing editorials in a series, like this one, is that I do not write all four of the editorials at once and check them over. I have an idea of where I am going, and what each will be about. But I research as I go. Taxes were such a HUGE issue when talking about American jobs, (and part of the solution) that I was keeping the topic of taxes for my third editorial called: American JOBS- “The solution.” But, I’m glad that you brought it up, and did a fine job of defining the issue. The founding fathers would have a second revolution if they could see the “value added tax.” Thanks for the comment..!! |
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PS- I missed the "soup" reference. I forgot that I had put that in the top of this post |
I believe these wars will never end. We will continue to chase al-Qaeda over the globe for decades to come.
Education is the Only way we can re-create the middle class. There will be no more "factory" jobs for our grandchildren. I believe you when you say you don't want to go "backward" when speaking about the proverbial-Good Ole Daze, only I hear this banality coming from the right all the time.
Kermit is correct: It's not easy being green, that's why we have to stop thinking of each other as not being smart i.e. no common sense, putting each other down, inner city drop outs, infighting, ect.
How come a place like South Korea has much better and cheaper tech. devices and faster internet speed & Wi-Fi? Apple put us back on the map. Nothing more American than that.
America should be at the fore front of Technology based Jobs and Critical Thinking. This country always has been, until most Corporations gave up on US!
We the People should never give up on each other.
The last time I got chicken from KFC, I looked at the grilled chicken Breast and said: "When did they start serving Pigeon?" The amount of meat was two fingers worth. Getting food from countries who have little to no FDA standards is frightning. We have to come together and realize that Americans are smart and we can work our way out of this quagmire by Re-inventing a better tomorrow, starting Today.
Cheers!