Re: P&T Magazine

On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 05:15:28 -0600, random wrote:

> Joe LaVigne <jlavigne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>On 11 Oct 2005 00:03:06 -0700, Robert wrote:
>>
>>>> Google Ricardo & comparative advantage. It turns out the free trade
>>>> leads to more cash in everyone's pocket in the long run. It's quite
>>>> counter-intuitive, especially in certain cases, but it holds true.
>>>
>>>
>>> Only for those who own factories overseas, who don't have to pay a
>>> decent wage or benefits, while Americans are becomming more and more
>>> 3rd world citizens thanks to 'free trade'
>>
>>Not completely true.
>>
>>Many manufacturing jobs may be lost to such movement, but many other
>>avenues open up, to those who are qualified, or work to become so.
>>
>>The US is still, for instance, one of the top R&D countries. We create
>>many technologies, then have them manufactured elsewhere (to make the
>>product mor affordable for our market). Overall, our standard of living
>>raises, while our requirement to do back-breaking work decreases...
>
> For such a high-tech kind of situation, there seem to be a lot of
> programmers out of work. I have a nephew who graduated with honors
> from a good school almost 3 years ago, and the best he's been able to
> find is short-term contract work. It's like global warming, people

Most programming is not very high-tech these days. Most programming work
can be done by anyone. Lowest bidder rules, and the lowest bidder can be
anywhere. Programming is not R&D.

> tell me there's no such thing then within a week I read a report about
> how it's affecting farmers, people tell me the economy is just fine

Noone has said there is no global warming (or climate change). What is at
question is whethter it is affected by man, or simply cyclical, since we
have had many hot and cold spells throughout the history of the planet (and
humanity).

> but there are a boatload of people out of work. Granted, free trade

Unemployment is at a very low rate. People may not be able to get the job
they want, but they can get a job if they want one.

> will be better for everyone in the *long* *run* but between now and
> then the US will probably have to go through a depression that makes
> 1929 look like high times, I doubt there's anything else that will

Not even close. Our standard of living continues to increase, even now
while everyone talks about how bad we have it.

I do not have much money, but all my bills are paid, and I am sitting in my
own house, typing this on one of my 6 computers. I have satellite TV in
several rooms. Telephones, cell phones, a car, and everything else I need
and most of what I want...

You always complain about how "poor" you are, but still seem to pay the
cell phone bill, keep a roof over your head, and get connected to the
internet. If you were truly poor, you'd get a job. Obviously, it is not a
necessity for you.

> cause our cost-of-living to drop far enough for the US to become
> competitive again. People blow off the fact that manufacturing in the
> US is either dead or dying, but don't seem to consider how many
> factory workers there used to be here. The unemployment reports don't

Who blows it off? My mother lost her job earlier this month. Her plant
closed, and moved production to the Tennessee plant. See ya. Nothing we
can do.

My entire area was manufacturing based in the 70's and 80's. Steel plants,
textile, food. Anything you could want, we made it. Now, most of it is
gone. And yet the people find a way to live.

> count all the people who fell off the end of the rolls a year or so
> ago because they only get unemployment for so long. I think there is

And yet we don't see homeless people on the rise. People may not be making
the money they were making when getting grossly overpaid at a union
manufacturing job, but they are finding ways to earn a living.

> a lot more "cottage industry" going on now because people have become
> desperate enough to try to do for themselves. It's the landlords man,

That's "deparate"? That just sounds like good sense to me. If you don't
like the jobs that are out there, make your own...

> the landlords. Rents drive our cost-of-living. And the way most of

Rent around here is less than $400/month for a nice place. You can get an
apartment in the roughter neighborhoods for under $200/month. Hell, you
can buy houses in the rough parts for only a few grand.

If people don't like the cost of living where they are, they should move.
It is damned near free to go somewhere else, albeit scary.

> the US is laid out, automobiles are essential. Take your rent and

Automobiles are nowhere near essential. At least not personl Autos.
Public transport is fine for the vast majority. Some people need cars for
work (I am a fine example), but most people don't. These people have cars
because they want them, and can afford them.

> your car payment out of the monthly list and you could work for a
> possibly competitive wage, but you can't take them out. The low

Even those that do need a car do not need to have new ones every 3 or 4
years. They decide not to take care of them, or they decide that they want
new ones all the time. I have a payment now, but it is only the second
time in my life that I have. And I drive 25,000 miles per year.

> interest rates have helped many people with cash-out refis and so
> forth, but something has to change out there somewhere. Just my
> opinion of course, I'm no certified economist, but I do talk to people
> in the real world and most of them seem to be struggling.

How many people do you talk with in the real world? You don't even like to
come out of the mountains... ;-)

I live in a city, and one that is considered very recessed economically.
While I think things could be better, things are far from as bad as people
(including yourself) would seem to want us to believe.

--
Joseph M. LaVigne
jlavigne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.thelavignefamily.us/MyPipePages/ - 10/11/2005 5:57:29 PM

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.
--William Wallace From the movie Braveheart
.

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