© Copyright 2011
Luders Allen
September 17, 2011
Almost half a century ago, the United States used to be world-leading country in manufacturing. About 53 percent of its economy depended on manufacturing. Now, only 9 percent of its economy depends on manufacturing (if it's not less than that). Most of its manufacturing companies are shipped overseas for cheap labors, not only U.S. manufacturing jobs that are outsourced, but also white-collar jobs.
Over 4 million manufacturing jobs have been disappeared since 1997. One-third of all major financial institutions already sent jobs overseas. 81% reporting they would do so in the next few years. Over one million of white-collar jobs had been shipped overseas over the past few years, and millions are at risk in the next 6 to 12 years. The U.S. unemployment rate now is 9.7 percent (This is the percentage of people who are still active in seeking employments. Those who are inactive based on discouragement don’t count in the survey).
Alan Blinder, the economist of Princeton University, says, “The number of jobs at risk of being shipped out of the country could reach 40 million over the next 10 to 20 years. That could be one out of every three service sector jobs that could be at risk.” (Cited in Crutsinger 2007).
Shipping U.S. jobs overseas has brought American manufacturers and corporatists huge advantages and interests. Those manufacturers and corporatists can get away with lots of things they wouldn't be dare to practice in the United States (or in any First World country). Overseas, in Third World countries, those companies hire employees for so low wages as from .30 cents, and up to $2.00 an hour. They don't have to pay benefits for their employees; they don't have to act in accordance with the safety and environmental regulations and they don't have to pay foreign taxes when they export their merchandises back to the U.S.
For instance, in the United States, a Software Engineer makes from $60, 000 and up a year, plus benefits and health care coverages. American jobs overseas pay a Software Engineer $15,000 or less a year without benefit and health care coverages.
In general term, this is how capitalists always make their fortunes: by extreme exploitation. In Third World countries, they have green lights to practice all kind inhumanly unjust toward their employees. How could people, thereby, expect for those lost jobs to be returned into the U.S. soil where they would be under strict regulations of all sorts? If people expect those lost jobs will be returned to the United States, just keep on dreaming....
United States is no longer a manufacturing country, anymore. It has become now a technocratic country. The only citizens that can live well are the members of upper class and upper middle class. And it depends how, for instance, an upper middle class family is managing its income. If the spending of an upper middle class family is not tactfully done, this family may have a chance to face economic hardship. Nonetheless, of course, its hardship is not going to be on the same levels as the middle class and the rests of the lower classes.
Middle class citizens, who form the most by college/university graduates, can barely survive. They are struggling just like those who don't have college or university degrees. This is why now a college or a university degree does not guarantee one's assurance well-being. Currently, unemployed college/university graduates are outnumbered high school dropouts.
In any society, manufacturing is the core of this society. If a society does not have manufacturing in a large scale, it is not properly operated. It is from manufacturing jobs most citizens always depend to be employed, especially those without and with low academic education. When converted a society into a technologically advanced one without having prepared the workforce’s infrastructure and most of its citizens in order to accustom with the current conversion, this society becomes a very dysfunctional society. And now, the United States has fallen into the category of ones of the dysfunctional societies.
Jobs shipped overseas have paralyzed the United States' social economics and brought American manufacturers and corporatists huge capitals. Those manufacturers and corporatists will not sympathize or compromise with the U.S. government about individuals' misfortune. The road that brings them more fortune this is where they stand.
Apathy is now the nature of most Neo-Foreign and Neo-American capitalists since Cold War does not exist anymore. During the Cold War era, this period created two foes, which were often interpreted as two worlds: the world of former Soviet Union and the world of the United States along with the rests of the capitalist countries, the world of good and the world of evil (good symbolized capitalism and evil symbolized communism).
At the time, therefore, in this world there was a balance that created a rivalry between the United States along with the rests of capitalist countries and the former Soviet Union about which system was best. And that balance compelled most Foreign and American capitalists to gain conscience based on a bit of righteousness about unfortunate citizens in order to prevent them from converting to the evil side (communist side) and to prove how capitalism outlook was better than that of communism. As now there's no balance (Cold War), most Foreign and American capitalists have no mercy for unfortunate citizens.
Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the great American scientist who invented the Atomic and the H bombs, one of the most influential and controversial scientists in the 20th century, well argued that during the period of Second World War: a world without balance has no chance to be peaceful and justifiable. In order to establish peace and justice in this world, the world needs balance (PBS WNET 2009).
It is lack of balance in this world that causes most politicians to Washington DC have been losing focus on the United States' urgent needs of domestic affairs. They have fallen into the politics of paradox and conflicts. They are more interested at war with themselves rather than solving the country's problems.
Due to the cleavage between political parties, most Bills that should have been on the interests and advantages of American people have to be politicized. Among politicians, their political statements are sheer humbug. Defending their multi-millionaire and multi-billionaire fellow lobbyists and political parties comes first before the American people who are struggling of economic hardship in their daily lives....
For instance, it was former President Bush Jr. along with his former Chief Economic Advisor, N. Gregory Mankiw, who testified in 2004, before Congress that American manufacturing and white-collar jobs that are being shipped overseas will help the U.S. economics grows overtime. Outsourcing makes the international trade market more profitable for the U.S. In whichever ways it is on the interests of the United States, even though it might be painful now for most American people (newsmine.org).
U.S. government is talking about giving tax-deductible, tax-break or tax-credit to those outsourced U.S. companies in order to motivate their owners to return them to the U.S. Giving tax-deductions to those manufacturers and corporatists is not going to make them returning their manufactures and corporations to the U.S. Overseas exploitation brings them extremely capital interests. The nature of capitalism is based upon extreme exploitation. Thereby, when it comes to its interest, about what brings it the most capital, it won't compromise.
Jobs outsourced have left the U.S. job workforce in chaos. The job market is in the realm of breach. Day-by-day, people who had or have made enormous efforts to get their college or university degrees in order to improve their social status, and to live a better life, they end up in daily battles for survival with the job market.
Jobs outsourced have left the U.S. job workforce in chaos. The job market is in the realm of breach. Day-by-day, people who had or have made enormous efforts to get their college or university degrees in order to improve their social status, and to live a better life, they end up in daily battles for survival with the job market.
Now, most people with Associate's and Bachelor’s Degrees are not really too in demand in the job market, especially people with Associate’s Degrees. An Associate's Degree seems officially now insignificant. This is why many people with Associate’s Degrees are going back to school to get their Bachelor’s Degrees. Many people with Bachelor’s Degrees are going back to school to get their Master’s Degrees — even some with Master’s Degrees are going for their PhD’s. Still this is not to say making enormous effort to earn an advanced degree is a guarantee that can lead one to his or her satisfying employment nor being employed.
The job market focuses more on people with advanced degrees. And it is based purely upon extreme exploitation. E.g., people with Master’s Degrees are doing jobs of people with Bachelor’s Degrees — even Associate’s Degrees. Normally, people with Master’s Degrees should have, at least, made from $55.000.00 and up a year.
Due to most white-collar jobs that are shipped overseas, the job market is extremely exploiting college or university graduates. They end up doing non-professional jobs (way out of their expectations) and making way less than expected. In addition, they have to re-pay back lots of school’s loans, and have family’s responsibilities. As a result, they have become insolvent. When analyzing such situation, what is the reason now for having or earning a college/university degree?
Indeed, U.S. has to let go about its manufacturing and white-collar jobs that are being shipped overseas. Those lost jobs will never be returned to the US soil, anymore. They lose forever. The sole solution for the jobs shipped overseas crisis, U.S. federal government has to create new jobs on a technical challenging scale in various aspects, i.e., from manufacturing to white-collar jobs.
Job creations must be created in a long term, not in a short term. In a long-term employment the way it used to be 50, 40 and 30 years ago. Past decades ago, people used to be employed permanently and got full benefits. Now, most employers hire people in a short term, what is called seasonal employment. Seasonal employment is a form of extreme violation of human rights and exploitation.
When people seasonally hired, their employers get away with lots of things that should have been on their interests and benefits. Seasonal employees don't get health coverage, sick days, vacation days, holidays and work compensation. And short-term employees can be laid off at anytime. Furthermore, most employers like to lay off their seasonal employees at a time they won't be able to collect unemployment benefits (i.e., before six month). Therefore, that can void them from paying their shares of the unemployment benefits on behalf of their former employees.
Karl Marx, German political philosopher, sociologist, economist and the founder of socialism-communism, well put it, 'Exploitation is not an economic phenomenon, but primarily a phenomenon of the moral order, a moral evil relation of man to man.' (Cited in Berdyaev 1948: 100).
More importantly, to prevent extremely brutal exploitation in the job workforce, job creation projects must be accompanied with federal labor force reforms. The reforms must be based, at least, on the 3, 4 or 5 past decades ago social justice criteria on behalf of employees. I.e., After 3 months being employed, employees must be members of a labor union/s. Employees must be able to fully depend on their jobs to sustain a bit happiness in their daily lives. Working from paychecks to paychecks, where they can not even respond to or pay their bills, is not a life. Hard working employees deserve to live a descent life because slavery society is long time gone.
Creating jobs without good social and labor reforms on behalf of employees, it is as dirty hands that are washed without soaps. 3, 4 or 5 decades ago, even lower wages employees used to fully depend upon their jobs. They used to pay their bills on time, to save a little money in the bank and to have a little satisfaction about life.
For example, most Europeans middle and working classes are much better off than most Americans middle and working classes. If most European countries are on the interests of the welfares of their citizens, therefore, it is not impossible for the United States to apply the same social criteria on behalf of its middle class and working class citizens.
Creating jobs with good-social and labor force reforms would not only be good to put American people back to work in order to secure their well-beings in the labor force, but also it would destabilize the export of goods to the U.S. of most outsourced American companies.
Those outsourced U.S. companies cannot survive without the U.S. trade market. The U.S. trade market is still the best in the world. They have to export their products to the U.S. to sell. Thereby, if the United States’ government creates ways to subvert the American products that are made overseas, thereafter exported to the U.S. soil to sell, these companies will not be in business for too long.
Emphatically, two things that need to be followed U.S. job creation projects: (1) U.S. must produce merchandises and services with great qualities for cheaper prices than the American products that are exported to the U.S. (2) American people should embrace patriotism more in order to support the federal government with its job creation projects.
They should boycott all outsourced American products. Don't purchase American products that are made in China, India, Mexico, Thailand, Colombia and many more. Buy American products that are made in U.S.A. This way the export of outsourced American goods would be destabilized.
President John F. Kennedy said once, “We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work. Our problems are man-made, therefore, they may be solved by man.” (Cited in Brainy Quote: 3, 5).
Although indeed the revolution of the high-tech world causes American jobs have been replaced by high-tech machines and resulted in the elimination of hundreds of millions of jobs, this is not to say Americans must be out of work for the rest of their lives. There must be ways to create jobs for people to work in order to survive. Work is always the engine of any society. Imagine, for instance, high-tech machines replace the jobs of every single American. Therefore, what kind of society American society would be?
A great society (any society) cannot indirectly make most of its citizens feel as they are outsiders in their own homeland, due to not having highly professional-social standards. That’s right makes any semi-developed country keeps functioning well, or a well-developed country is a great society when within it different groups of citizens have their specific duties to perform and depend fully upon them.
Logically and reasonably, in any society, citizens who possess Master’s Degrees, or PhD’s/Doctorate Degrees in any field are very minimal, in terms of percentage. Therefore, when a society is creating ways to survive are solely based on classifications of possessions advanced degrees, indirectly this society is repressing the majority of its citizens.
United States is now functioning just as a Third World country. This is really a tragic and a serious situation. U.S. federal government must create long term employments with full benefits the way it used to be 50, 40 and even 30 years ago. And this is not impossible to happen. U.S. government can do so... The United States can not go on this way. Otherwise, this is the beginning of the fall of the United States.
References
Berdyaev, N. (1948). 'The origin of Russian communism,' The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Crutsinger, M. (2007). 'Factory jobs,' USA Today.
Available: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-04-20-4155011268_x.htm, [17 jan. 2011].
Grubin, D. (Director). (2009). The trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer, The American experience full episode, PBS WNET, New York, NY, 26 Jan.
Kennedy, John F. Brainy Quotes, pp. 3, 5,
Available: http://www.brainyquote/quotes/authors/j/john_f_kennedy_5.html,
[13 Dec. 2010].
'Kerry says job one is American jobs during democratic radio address, newsmine.org,
Available:http://www.newsmine.org/content.phdol=cabal=elite/corporate/taxhavens/tax-code-encourages-sending-jobs-overseas.txt, [12 Sept. 2011].
No comments:
Post a Comment