Quote from Misthos:
Funny when someone finds a way to make money, they imply "that's Capitalism for you! Don't mess with it you damn Commie!"
I'm for making money just like everyone else. However, it's not so simple. We can easily poison the fruit bearing tree without knowing it.
When we trade with nations that have a fraction of workers protections (minimum wage, unionization abilities, work hours, workplace safety conditionds... etc...) We risk either becoming like them, or sacrificing our middle class. We tried the FIRE Economy as a replacement for the middle class - and it is imploding before our eyes.
In India, the lower classes "sell" a child to factories to pay off debts. In Indonesia, 14 yr olds are brutally treated to produce, working 15+ hours a day. In China, you better not ask for a bathroom break or risk bodily harm, in the maquilladoras of South America, the army will hunt you down if you try to Unionize.
"Free" Trade, unfettered, will seek the lowest common denominator - thus we export a large part of our wealth and import a large part of the emerging markets' poverty.
Maybe you and I don't feel it. But it will affect a large part of our society, to the point that we look more like an emerging country's society.
The ramifications are immense. Think it through.
I beleieve in FAIR TRADE - otherwise we will be going through severe societal upheaval until the working conditions in emerging economies slowly improve.
With Fair Trade, we export our values. You want to trade with us? TREAT YOUR WORKERS AS WE DO.
Again, please think this through - we are entering a period of great instability and change, and for the short term (10-20+yrs) it will not be pretty.
Those are really good points about the factories in india china and the maquilas in S.A. I agree, they do terrible things and I despite them.
Those are not the processes Im trying to outsource, those processes are the past. Im trying to outsource the future [knowledge creating processes] and Im trying to outsource them to Costa Rica, were we happen to have a health system that is far more inclusive than that of the US, the same goes for education and pensions; and fair labor laws by the way. They won't let you die in the hospital door here just cause you ain't got insurance, and we sure as hell don't work 15 hour days.
I believe in FAIR trade myself, but I don't believe that fair trade can happen as long as there are migratory restictions that enable governments to decide who gets fair employment. A migratory reform in the US is nowere in sight [migratory reform as in opening the border for all people willing to work], so Im inclined to using technology for bringing jobs south of that border... basically in order to get fair trade you must have fair employment.
When I talk about opportunities I don't worry about the factory jobs or the maquilas... they can all go to china for all I care. That was the first phase of outsorcing and most profits to be made are already made in that field* . Im concerned about the rocket propullsion research, biotech, microchip development, business analysis, product engeniering... those are the fun ones to outsource these days.
Im not only concerned with my own profitability, there are far more simple ways for me to find a high paying job, such as moving up north [given that I have the proper visas for US and CAN, and I don't need one for Europe], but that would be a terribly selfish thing for me to do.
Instead Im planning on producing research that allows countries [and companies] to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves as the imbalance corrects itself. One of the things that I want to expose is how only countries that work towards a higher standard of living are going to be able to take part of those oportunites. This because the opportunity will move to more and more specialized fields.
The US middle class has at their dispossal one of the best systems of schools and research facilities in the world. That is their greater advantage, education is available. If they work as hard as their counterparts in the south, they'll continue to lead the way moving into more specialized fields as their previous field gets outsourced.
The US became a great country by the people who took on great challenges, not by having the gov. apply protectionist schemes to ensure that only a few get a good job.
I know that adapting to changing economic conditions can be a painfull process. I've lived such adjustments in the flesh, as a crisis that started in 1978 [2 years before my time] in CR forced the whole country to restructure it's economy and change from an agricultural society seeking selfsuficiency to a technological society seeking exports and trade. Today we export more microchips than bananas.
I also visited in Nicaragua during the days of the Sandinistas, and lived there for 3 years during the late 90's. So I know exactly how much harm socialism and state paternalism can bring to a country.
Im not seeing that I wish for the US middle class to suffer, I have seen suffering and I wish it upon none. I'm simply discribing what seems to me as a crossroads in economic development and trying to layout the opportunities for all parties involved.
*guess what, maquilas are leaving central america everyday to move to China, only those with a competitive edge focused towards high quality - that requiers qualified labor - are able to survive. Some people here are complaining about the loss of jobs too, but most people are seeing this as an opportunity to move to sectors of greater added value.
