Opinion Poll: America's Trade Deficit

[A_C_E]

Originally Posted by kombayn

Yeah. I agree certain subsidies need to be in place when it comes to items that include food and medicine, at the same time though International Law and/or United States law should prevent tampering of products. If you do allow the market to determine what a worker should make, it'll help the overall economy I think. At least it'll make American Workers more competitive.

How would allowing manufacturing and call-center jobs to go overseas where companies only have to pay workers $5/day make American workers more competitive?

I think it would be disastrous for our economy.

[kombayn]

Jobs are moving over-seas already because of cheaper labor, if they have no wage restrictions in the United States, you can find a common ground on a fair wage for a call-center job. When you're paying someone $10 to $12 an hour to do a job that they can get for $5, why wouldn't they move them? If they take a pay decrease at $7 to $9, I don't think as many jobs would get shipped and that makes it more competitive. It's better than not having jobs here to provide at all. The Lower to Middle Class has to be more real with subjects like this, most of America 10 years ago was affordable to live in with lower-paying jobs.

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by kombayn

Jobs are moving over-seas already because of cheaper labor, if they have no wage restrictions in the United States, you can find a common ground on a fair wage for a call-center job. When you're paying someone $10 to $12 an hour to do a job that they can get for $5, why wouldn't they move them? If they take a pay decrease at $7 to $9, I don't think as many jobs would get shipped and that makes it more competitive. It's better than not having jobs here to provide at all. The Lower to Middle Class has to be more real with subjects like this, most of America 10 years ago was affordable to live in with lower-paying jobs.

ummm what?

[A_C_E]

Originally Posted by kombayn

Jobs are moving over-seas already because of cheaper labor, if they have no wage restrictions in the United States, you can find a common ground on a fair wage for a call-center job. When you're paying someone $10 to $12 an hour to do a job that they can get for $5, why wouldn't they move them? If they take a pay decrease at $7 to $9, I don't think as many jobs would get shipped and that makes it more competitive. It's better than not having jobs here to provide at all. The Lower to Middle Class has to be more real with subjects like this, most of America 10 years ago was affordable to live in with lower-paying jobs.

Not even a single person with zero debt can afford to live in America on $8/hour, now OR ten years ago. You're living in a dream world.

You should read Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting By in America" if you think that's anywhere near enough money to survive on.

For a little background, she's a journalist who went undercover working low-wage jobs and tried to survive, while conducting detailed interviews and studies of the people who try and make it in these areas. It's a great read, very eye-opening.