Really-what happened to our jobs?

[onethatcares]

I'm a baby boomer that is mystified as to how an entire nation, save for a few mid western states, could shed millions of jobs in all types of fields.

Where did they go and who, please name names, took them out of our hands?

I'm watching my country fall apart with people arguing over whether healthcare should be a right, while many can't even afford to buy a bottle of aspirins at the local drug store.

[OhioChick]

1. Blue collar are in China...White collar in India.

Thank greedy corporations and our politicians.

[DemReadingDU]

6. and Mexico & Brazil

and Vietnam, HongKong, Korea, Thailand, everywhere
Read the tags that come with the stuff you buy
:(

[OhioChick]

16. I know....

I only mentioned the 2 biggies.

[leftstreet]

2. Capitalism, technology, outsourcing, higher productivity...

...what am I forgetting?

[ChicagoSuz219]

26. Manufacturing. n/t

[n2doc]

3. Gradually outsourced and exported

replaced with real estate bubble jobs (mortgage, construction, sales) which then evaporated when the bubble burst.

[Motown_Johnny]

4. .

Just look at the trade deals that have been made in the last 30 years, find out who is responsible for them and you will see who cost us our jobs.




P.S. NAFTA = Clinton

[southerncrone]

14. P.S NAFTA = HW the originator

Bill just signed right on.

[Catshrink]

5. I just gave the caller from the DSCC a piece of my mind about it.

I know it's not Obama's organization but they need to hear that Labor is still alive. I mentioned the comments by Obama about the teacher firing in RI and about the GM union busting. Poor guy.

[RKP5637]

11. I did the same, but told them to go ask the lobbyists, corporations, insurance

companies or banking for donations. I was fed up and not giving anymore. I had the same thought when I hug up, poor guy.

[BeatleBoot]

7. This mid-Western state has been in a depression since about 2003

Michigan.


Flint - gone

Detroit - gone.

When auto volumes dropped in May 2000 - the entire office I worked at gasped.

No recovery since.

[RKP5637]

8. Outsourcing to the cheapest labor, moving factories overseas, moving hi-tech

to other countries, moving any job not physically tied to this country out of the country. That leaves flipping burgers as a prime US job today. This country isn't going anyplace in the 21st century the way it's headed. Now it's profit any any cost to the citizens, which do not count. The citizens aren't part of the equation of success today, only profits to the cornered wealth of this country.

It is a complete ripoff in USA, Inc. The ultimate in Reagan trickle down economics and what a load of crap that was from day one. This has been coming on since the 80's. The place is a cruel joke today. The US is greed at its maximum today. The ultimate of capitalism gone astray.

[MadMaddie]

9. My friend we only have to look back and start with Ronnie

Ole Ronnie started with the destruction of Jimmy Carter and his behind the scenes deal with the Iranian hostage crisis. Oh and let's not forget the outright attack on Unions and the destruction of the goverment.

President Bill Clinton and his creation and implementation of Nafta and Cafta just pushed us further along the path of destruction.

Add on top of that H1B Visas and giving HUGE tax cuts and incentives for companies to offshore jobs.

See they offshored the low wage jobs because it really wouldn't hurt the middle class they said...then the new terminology of the day was we are living in a "Global Economy" and companies have to off shore to stay competitive blah..blah..blah....

Then we get to "*" 8 years of tax cuts for the rich and a continual removal of government regulation.

Voila.....

Here we are today....(of course this is simplified) but in my mind..these are the catalyst of the destruction of the American work force.

[RKP5637]

15. Excellent Summary!!! And now what do we have, glorious Sarah Palin. And,

I think we have a really dumbed down populace today. Many just don't seem to get what is going on in this country today, and they think the republicans are their best friend. God, what is wrong with these people. It's brainwashing at its peak. Frankly, I think it's time to find another country to live in if the republicans gain control in 2010 and 2012.

[MadMaddie]

21. I would have to include some college educated people in the

dumbed down populace....the age group I am talking about is 23-35. I work with several of them they are genuinely good people, they call themselves Christians but they only watch Faux. They are against abortion but love the two wars.......the only thing we agree on is that the court systems are too soft on criminals (in reference to the teen getting killed in CA by the repeat sex offender).

One of them said what's wrong with this country is that religion is being pulled out of everything.....even the Pledge of Allegiance

so of course I had to correct this bit of misinformation and I responded "under God" was not in the original text and that "Under God" was added to the pledge in 1954.....sigh...I got silence....I said go look it up....we haven't talked about it since.

[RKP5637]

22. I find it a rather pathetic place today and as you are quite correct in saying, some

college educated people fall into the same dumbed down populace. It's all quite unsettling.

[pasto76]

10. steel industry went to mexico, singapore and japan

been on jobs where the iron is actually fabricated on a giant ship while enroute to the states.

"heche en mexico" is commonplace.

I mean seriously, it actually costs LESS to shipp 1500 tons of steel from japan rather than produce it domestically.

[femrap]

20. I've been reading 'country of

origin' on labels since 1989 (Tiennamien Square in China). That country makes everything. I rarely see Mexico anymore. Vietnam is increasing.

Toothpicks are now made in China....drinking straws, too.

Now lawyers and accountants are being used in India.

Reading of x-rays is done overseas.

Since China owns all of our debt, we dance to their tune. And that tune says that they have billions and billions of people who need jobs so they won't revolt. But even the Chinese workers are getting pissed...no worker rights. 'Wanna die? Go work for Walmart.'

[opihimoimoi]

12. A great deal went to Robotics Mechaniization, computers, and obviously, off shoring

Total effect: More available labor for smaller markets = higher unemployed factor...The answers are every where...under our very noses..

and yet...they fail to see.

who are they? They are our leaders from mayors to Senators, Congress Critters, and the Exect Branch.

If they can see...they will eventually solve the damn thing...

until then, we can only Dream of FULL EMPLOYMENT on a stable long term basis...

On that note, we should work for it too....

[invictus]

13. That's "free trade" at work. America's biggest export is American jobs.

[southerncrone]

17. Sadly, that is so true.

:cry:

[HeresyLives]

18. The world has changed, as it always does.

And it isn't just America...it's happening all over the 'western world'.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. The "leveling of the playing field" is taking place.

With massive unemployment, labor is a buyer's market. American workers are faced with a Catch-22 "recovery" - either work for less or don't work.

That coupled with the fact that the country is broke and dependent on loans from other nations means that, as the Springsteen song says, "Those jobs are gone, boys, and they ain't comin' back."

[BeFree]

24. $4.50 a gallon gas

Scared the crap out of everyone and they quit buying stuff.

It is getting to be every man for himself, and the good ol' USA ain't what she used to be.

The only good coming from the demise of consumption is that the environment gets a small break.

Beyond tomorrow, we can expect more of the same. Higher energy costs, less jobs, declining pay scales and more slavery.

[galileoreloaded]

23. Those jobs were never really needed, but demand pulled-forward

created positions that were unsustainable.

Sort of like a small city or town that no longer has room for growth, we as a nation have become "built out".

[OHdem10]

25. Taiwan, Eastern Europe, along with others mentioned.

Mismanaged Trade Policies of Globalization.

I am not Protectionist, just believe Trade Policy can be
better managed and thus win win for all parties.