Re: Overseas Job Migrations - one industry's perspective

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 03:22:55 GMT, L Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>[...]
>Personal Opinion:
>
>  (This is probably the part Brian has been waiting for.)
>
>  I'm not strongly pro-globalization, but I'm not against it, either. To 
>me, it's a fact of life
>that needs to be dealt with. We can impose all the tariffs we want and 
>create strong
>global unions, and it won't change the fact that labor in other 
>countries is cheaper than
>in the US. The only viable, long-term strategy that makes any sense, 
>IMO, is to figure out
>what our strengths are as a country and to push them as hard as we can. 
>There will
>be significant disruptions to different parts of our society, but that's 
>been true of every
>innovation (think buggy-whip makers, for example).
>
>[...]
>Rich Lemert

Rich, thanks for the reply.  I don't read this group very often any
more, but it is nice to see some political discussion going on.  I am
kind of starved for that sort of thing where I am now.

I try to take a balanced view.  To me, it is clear that capitalism,
free markets, etc. is the best engine for creating wealth.  So you
can't just oppose it with all your might.  But sometimes, the
distribution of wealth thereof can become so out of whack that (in the
short term) more good (depending on where you are sitting) can be
gotten by political activism like unionization & such.

What bothers me is the near religious fervor with which political
discussion on this topic occurs--with those rightwing freemarketers
telling us (usually in extremley condescending terms) that unfettered
capitalism is all good all the time to all people.  [The fact that, in
the last few years, these kinds of arguments have gotten coupled with
rampant charges of treason towards the left has not helped either.]

What I worry about is just myself.  Suppose, tomorrow, a freak South
Dakota earthquake were to occur just as I'm leaving the building after
work.  I'm hit on the head with a brick and it does extensive brain
damage, rendering me a walking wounded with an effective IQ of about
60.  Basically, I'm screwed.  My family is screwed too (in that they
have invested into my career as their source of support).  To the
extent that we have ANY social programs to help people who are
incapacitated, they are given to us only very grudgingly by the
Republicans--with the understanding that when they get yet more
political power they will eliminate all these kind of
"anti-competitive" programs.

It's not clear to me where on the political spectrum Rich's situation
lies.  I'm amazed that the rampant outsourcing so far has not made the
average person's situation in this country much worse than it is now.
To the extent that we can tolerate it, fine, I'd say maybe it it not
yet a firebell in the night.  But there is no inherent catch or
control in the free market that would mean that there's any reason
that this situation can't just continue until the middle class income
in this country has decreased by say a factor of 2 or 3.

The free marketers at that point (when we're all making, on avg. say
$20k/year instead of $40k now) would say--well, with tarrifs or
controls or unionization it would just be worse.  The completly free
market is the best of all possible worlds, always.  But the problem is
that the markets are NEVER 100% free.  Nor will they ever be.  All I
know is that when it gets to the point (and it hasn't yet---quite)
that my job that required 8-10 years of post-graduate training can
only bring me the same as the guy at McDonalds, I might be inclined to
get pretty politically active.  What would there be to lose at that
point?


Anyhow, it has been interesting to think politics again, if only
briefly. :)


Brian Moore