Re: Knock offs

Good points.

Continuing off topic...

The flood of jobs overseas is going to get worse.  And, not only will the
cheapo manufacturing jobs remain overseas, but the high wage high tech jobs
are now moving overseas.  This is great if you are a CEO or an investment
banker and stand to make millions off of rising stock and lowered costs.
But what about the middle class?  What will they do with no real work other
than service jobs?  We can't all work at Wallmart or defense contractors.

I've been told by several players, never accept a free gig, or a gig for
less than fair wages, because it undermines the market for all musicians in
that area.  If many musicians do this, then restaurants will assume that's
the norm, and pay less, and lesser musicians will be playing, and the whole
music scene suffers as wages and quality diminish.

I think there are some parallels between the "music scene" idea, and the
current "globalization" trend in America.  By moving the jobs overseas, we
are not raising wages in other countries.  We are simply insuring lower
wages for all.

Of course, this trend may be stopped with a the emrgence of a new industry.
For example, the auto industry and other good wage manufacturing jobs moved
many jobs to Mexico and overseas years ago, and threatened to errode the
middle class.  But the emergence of the high-tech sector (your Microsofts,
and Silicon Valley jobs) filled that void in the economy.

-Paul H.


"matt u" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> At the risk of following you off-topic and opening one of those cans
> that's hell to close...
>
> You're right.  People that make things need to get paid.  And people who
> are citizens of the U.S. get paid more than folks in China, Mexico,
> Indonesia, etc.  Businesses like Walmart are as successful as they are
> primarily because of the low prices they charge the consumer.  The
> average consumer doesn't care much where or by whom or under what
> conditions their stuff is made - they just know they want to pay as
> little as possible for it.
>
> I heard a report on NPR some time ago that stated that in the toy
> industry, Walmart determines what it will pay for the merchandise it
> sells.  And predictably, the amount that Walmart pays is not enough for
> a manufacturer to pay a living wage to a worker in Asia, let alone
> minimum wage in the U.S.
>
> I don't pretend to have a solution, but I do try to spend as much of my
> money as possible with businesses who do not operate purely on a
> bottom-line basis.
>
> m
>
>
> Joe Finn wrote:
> > ... the people that put them together need to be compensated...
> >
> > I'm sorry to oversimplify what is off course a major and very complex
> > economic issue.
> >
> > They say most of what is currently being sold at Walmart [the leading
> > retailer in the USA] is made in China.
> >
> > As cock-eyed as this must sound, I still take comfort and very much like
the
> > idea of playing an American made guitar and driving and "American" car
which
> > is probably full of parts made elsewhere. That's globalization, baby!
> > ......joe
> >
>