Outsourcing seen boosting wages at home: study

[readmoreoften]

Here's some classic Ivory Tower bullshit for ya:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060825/us_nm/economy_productivity_dc

notice it doesn't say how or why or offer any proof...

[Monkeyman]

1. Yep just like the new PTSD study all bull

[Bozita]

2. I smell something ... kinda smells like bullshit

Wages were down for workers last year.

But they were up for the working poor.

Can you smell it too?

[Telly Savalas]

6. I detect two distinct odors.

First is the pungent discussion of a need for a "new paradigm". When people start talking about "new paradigms" you can be reasonably sure that they're bullshitting you.

Secondly is this gem:

They presented evidence that the productivity effect had helped raise real wages for the least skilled among U.S. blue collar workers -- those who do jobs most likely to be shipped overseas -- by about a quarter of a percent per year between 1997 and 2004.

So they're saying that by shipping low-skill blue collar jobs overseas to exploit low wages we get to keep low-skill blue collar jobs here and increase wages. This doesn't make any sense. Why don't companies offshore these other jobs which are "likely to be shipped overseas"? If a company is trying to minimize labor costs, isn't it pretty stupid to give pay raises for jobs which can easily be shipped overseas for lesser wages? Perhaps this is part of the new paradigm.

[0007]

13. Makes good sense to me!!

'Tis like saying that Sexual Transmitted Diseases enhance the immune system.

[Stargazer99]

3. this study might sooth the "morals" of those that own the means

of production...but members on this board aren't fooled.

[readmoreoften]

4. Yeah, outsourcing helps unskilled workers-- apparently by....

MAGIC! Because no reasonable explanation is made. People whose jobs were outsourced are now doing... well, nothing! But somehow they're earning more!

[texpatriot2004]

5. BULLSHIT! nm

[Union Thug]

7. BS. Call Center pay is a perfect example...

Working in a call center doing tech support for MindSpring paid $12/hour to start (about 8 years ago), plus good benefits (stock, health, vaca). When outsourcing became common (about the time of the EarthLink merger), wages fell to around $8.50/hour with major cuts in benefits packages.

So, where's the boost?

[brentspeak]

8. The word "neoliberal" comes to mind while reading this article

I'd like to see a duplicate economics study performed by these same two neolib economists, but with an added control: before the study commences, they'll both be informed their positions at Princeton will be terminated at the end of the year, and turned over to Indian economists who they'll also have to train re. course teaching and various duties.

I wonder what the results of their study will be like then...

[w4rma]

9. Must be the work of the magical freedom trade fairy. (nt)

[Sven77]

10. in other news

chocolate rations were increased.

[gorbal]

11. I think they want to push everyone into working in hospitals

Hospitals are desperately understaffed, and they can't yet make robots that do patient care or give meds. Unfortunately they also can't train people fast enough. (perhaps an excuse becasue they can't afford them)

[xchrom]

12. ...

:eyes: selling the american public a bag of raw sewage.

[scarletlib]

14. yea, maybe the ceo's income but that's about all.

[struggle4progress]

19. Bingo! Comparing mean to median income illustrates this clearly:

From 1993-2003, US median household income fell by over 3.5%, from $44,968 to $43,318; there were similar declines in all but a handful of states. Per capita income, over approximately the same period, rose by about 4%. Real wages have been falling, so the surplus is going to the rich.

Median Household Income in 2003 Constant Dollars
http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/120505t.htm

Change in Per Capita Income by State: 1999-2004
http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/040405t.htm


Published on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by the Financial Times
Real Wages Fall at Fastest Rate in 14 Years
by Christopher Swann in Washington

Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times.

Inflation rose 3.1 per cent in the year to March but salaries climbed just 2.4 per cent, according to the Employment Cost Index. In the final three months of 2004, real wages fell by 0.9 per cent.

The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991, when real wages declined by 1.1 per cent. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0511-08.htm

[scarletlib]

26. good job with the stats!

[davhill]

15. Pretty Obvious

If you increase the number of manager per US worker the average income of those still with a job goes up.

[western mass]

16. How to lie with statistics 101

10 jobs: 1 pays $10/hr, 9 pay $6/hr. Ave wage: $6.40/hr

Outsource the 9 low-wage jobs. Ave wage (for the remaining job): $10/hr.

See, its easy to show that outsourcing raises average wages.

[Nay]

17. Thank you, Mass! I couldn't have said it simpler. When oh when

will we get rid of these lying bastards??

[OhioChick]

18. "Outsourcing seen boosting wages at home"

My ass. :wtf:

[VegasWolf]

20. Studies show cigarette smoking not addictive. Just depends on who is

paying for the study.

[Radical Activist]

21. Since when does increased productivity benefit the workers?

The extra cash goes to the stockholders, not the workers. Even if their numbers are correct, how the hell can they expect us to think 1/4 of a percentage increase in wages makes up for millions put out of work? What a crock of shit! I notice the article doesn't quote any opposing views.

[mbperrin]

25. Exactly right! The definition of increased productivity means more

work was done without additional pay. Working harder for the same or less. Increased bottom line for the company? Sure. Although over time, who will BUY their stuff? Then watch that bottom line! Come out into the real world, guys, and live like the rest of us!

[Rainscents]

22. What the hell they been smoking?

I would to have some...:eyes:

[Jack Rabbit]

23. A new spin on one of favorite old lines

That idea is so idiotic only an intellectual could have thought of it. -- Churchill

That study is so counter-intuitive that only a "think tank" could be responsible for it. -- Jack Rabbit.

[lumpy]

24. Unadulterted BS

Retirement benefits out the window, stagnated minimum wage, healthcare unaffordable or non existent, inflation on the rampage, unavailable middle class jobs, unaffordable housing. Economic experts my ass.

[1932]

27. +.25%/yr from 97-04 for LOWEST PAID WORKERS -- ie min wage srvc sector

jods.

If that isn't adjusted for inflation, that's a terrible number. And what does globalization have to do with minimum wage jobs? It's killing the middle class by turning the US into a service sector economy, that doesn't produce anything of value allowing a middle class to form from work that adds value along the path of production, but creates a two-tier economy of super-rich CEOs and the un-uniionized people who flip their burgers and mow their lawns.

[OKthatsIT]

28. Why are you so surprised? REUTERS is Globalist...

Associated Press is a little better...but still corporate.

Personally, the way this article has been written, sounds like confusing bullshit. Unskilled blue collar workers...have faired well? Hmmmm. Younger, willing to work longer hours without overtime pay, willing to take less in benefits and medical insurance? Could we have the statistics of skilled blue collar workers who held their job for years, had insurance and retirement benefits and got the boot?

The best sources would be state by state statistics. Socialist Party tries to stay informed, by including foreign and domestic labor statistics. No white collar unions means we have no reliable statistics.

REUTERS...GO SUCK AN EGG.

[Odin2005]

29. Neo-Liberal BS

Neo-Classical Economics is a fucking religion.

[Roland99]

30. "cheaper transportation"? When was their study conducted? Pre-2001?

Have they not noticed the increase in energy prices (which affect those transportation costs)?

[high density]

31. Every business rewards increased productivity with higher wages,

right? Or I guess these idiots are assuming so. It sounds just like the "as taxes go down, government revenues increase" crowd.

How can Reuters publish a press release like this? It's so obvious. Don't any of these writers have editors to filter this shit out?

[Gormy Cuss]

32. The brief Reuters story seems to be putting emphasis on a minor point.

Grossman's main point is the shifting paradigm in international trade theory. As one of the leading international trade economists I think he's motivated by advancing his discipline, not shilling for a right-wing agenda.

For those of you here who are economists and would like to read more on it, this appears to be the working paper presented at the Federal Reserve:

http://www.princeton.edu/%7Egrossman/offshoring.pdf

[cyberpj]

33. WAIT! What?... "by about a quarter of a percent per yr 1997-2004" ?!?

snip...
"They presented evidence that the productivity effect had helped raise real wages for the least skilled among U.S. blue collar workers -- those who do jobs most likely to be shipped overseas -- by about a quarter of a percent per year between 1997 and 2004."

And they're claiming this as a GOOD THING????
And they're getting away with it???????

So how much did the CEOs and management wages increase during that same time period?!!!!!

These people need to be called out on this bullshit.

Is it ME???????????????