The Role of the Government in Capitalism

"Why do you think corporations are sending jobs overseas? Lower costs? Larger margins? Cheaper labor? Less taxes? Less regulations? Unions?"

This series of questions was asked by someone commenting on an article about jobs a few weeks back.  The person posing the questions seemed to be hostile:  He wanted to make sure that people who were complaining about the lack of jobs understood that the problem was all of those regulations, nasty unions, the insistence of the American labor force on fair wages and working conditions.  (Just a touch of sarcasm there.)


I didn't reply to that particular post, but I did copy these questions and thought about them, as these kinds of questions are typical in discussions about the current jobs crisis. 

Do we want to become a Third World country?

After consideration, here's my reply to the series of questions in the first paragraph:

Happy Labor Day! A Tribute to My Father.

My Dad was a veteran and a union man.    

Happy Labor Day!  from Cognitive Dissonance 

(Updated for Labor Day 2013, September 2, 2013)
He wasn't an activist; he wasn't a union steward; he just worked in a union shop for about 35 years. 

He was bright but not educated; he never finished high school, but he was awarded a number of patents over the years.  He was a self-taught man.  In these days of degrees and advanced degrees, someone like my dad would go nowhere.  The garage and his workshop in the basement were filled with every kind of tool imaginable, pieces of wood, metal, odds and ends that he picked up.  He could fix anything, and, for a while when we were really little, he fixed cars out of the garage and also did some electrical work for pay.  After he got his union job, however, he did less of that, content to keep our home, our grandmother's home, and the apartment buildings that my parents owned in good repair.  

He never went on strike, but he was concerned about it a few times; there was always a settlement before the strike date came.  The company he worked for changed owners, was bought out, was sold again, but eventually it became part of what is now Verizon.  

HERE's MORE about my dad and about what it meant (and still means) to be a union member in these United States.

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Index to all Jobs & Employment Reports HERE  

The Unemployed: Lazy? Irresponsible spongers?

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And, remember, unions wouldn't be necessary if companies paid their employees reasonably, treated them like human beings, and insisted on decent working conditions.. and didn't insist on paying CEO's millions because they are so "worth it".  "Class warfare" didn't start with the workers.

I just came across this article about Labor Day:  Republicans Should Use This Labor Day to Ponder Their Assault on the American Worker--

...And that's what Labor Day has transformed into: Not about the history of labor, respect for union or an opportunity to affirm our commitment to fundamental worker rights, just a chance for some family-friendly fun.

That family-friendly fun, by the way, is made possible by child labor laws, weekends and minimum wage - all progress that was championed by labor unions. But you won't hear about that on Monday, politicians will be too busy discussing how to get government out of the way of Big Business and regular Americans will be too preoccupied worrying about their economic future.

Thanks, Justin Krebs!

For Labor Day 2013, Paul Krugman talks about the loss of respect for the working man, particularly among the Republican right-wing:

No, what’s unimaginable now is that Congress would unanimously offer even an empty gesture of support for workers’ dignity. For the fact is that many of today’s politicians can’t even bring themselves to fake respect for ordinary working Americans. 

Consider, for example, how Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, marked Labor Day last year: with a Twitter post declaring “Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success.” Yep, he saw Labor Day as an occasion to honor business owners.

But, while we contemplate the state of the American worker, we can appreciate Labor Day.

And to all workers everywhere, whether labor or management, whether union or self-employed:

 Have a good day and remember the middle class life that we all took for granted.  It's still not too late to save it!

Chinese Suicide iPod Sweatshops

"Steel wire meshes have been fitted to windows at Foxconn's factory to stop workers jumping after a rash of suicides believed to be due to harsh management practices."

Just look at the picture... then look down at your iPhone or your iPod.  Unless you are completely heartless, you will never be able to see your iProduct in the same way again.  

This article came out last June but I don't remember reading it back then.  

Come on, people, why aren't we in the streets hundreds and thousands strong protesting this and other issues pertaining to working conditions around the world?  These people in China can't do much about the conditions in which they work!


Also from the article:

After details of the Chinese suicides leaked out, and Jobs promised he was 'all over it', his Chinese partner announced that his workers would receive a generous-sounding 30 per cent pay rise, raising the basic wage from £90 to £120 a month.

Yet human rights groups denounced this as a public relations sham, saying that the legal minimum wage was being raised by the Chinese authorities in any case.

Lu Bing Dong, 22, helps produce 21,000 iPhones daily in his workshop alone. 'The pay rise is actually stopping us making more money because now they are strictly controlling overtime,' he says.

'Foxconn are very smart - they say it's a pay rise, but we actually earn less. It's meaningless. They will increase the daily quotas [of products made] to make up for lost time.'

As we left the sprawling Foxconn complex, workers were putting cages on one dormitory block with balconies - yet another measure to keep workers from killing themselves.

'It looks even more like a prison now,' said a weary Lu, 27, returning from a 15-hour shift.

Read more:  The Daily Mail: Inside Chinese suicide sweatshops

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More on the mistreatment of Chinese workers for American enterprises:

Oakland Bay Bridge Being Built by Chinese paid $12/day *************************************************************************

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Updated April 16, 2011

Minyanville's Justin Rohrlich reported on Foxconn and its iPod makers.  

There appear to be many reasons for the rash of suicides, but you can't miss the nets that Foxconn installed to catch jumpers:  (This picture from the bottom of that link.)

Some thoughts from Chinese experts who have considered the problem:

Zhang Chun, the director of a suicide prevention program in Nanjing, said:

Since the opening up, the rapid social changes and the clash between modern and traditional values have made many people lose their mental balance.”

And Pun Ngai, an associate professor of sociology at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University, said,

“The development of China as a world factory is a fundamental reason causing these suicidal cases.”

To me, the biggest problem wasn't the suicides, which may or may not be at a higher rate than suicides elsewhere; it was the working conditions.  People who focus on the suicides miss the big picture of millions of people working long hours in extremely crowded dormitories so that we can have cheap iPhones.

And it appears that the wages in China may be getting too high due to wage inflation!  So.....

Foxconn is considering a move to Brazil!

It appears that they now are paying the Chinese urban factory workers over 2 bucks, so it is time to move on.  Got to keep those profit margins high to be competitive, of course!  

Updated July 29, 2011


Links about related developments to the Chinese iPod workers for Foxconn:


Chinese iPhone factory Foxconn holds creepy anti-suicide rally


Is Apple's suicide factory outsourcing to even cheaper Chinese peasants?


Foxconn forces employees to sign "No Suicide" pact



Updated October 6, 2011


Steve Jobs, one of the founders and the guiding light of Apple died yesterday at age 56.  He is being hailed as a visionary, and, of course, he was.  


It is always sad that someone with such genius and such strong personal traits died at such a young age and after such a long illness.  My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.


I wish that Steve Jobs had lived longer.  Perhaps he could have been a visionary in another way.  Perhaps he could have actually taken some responsibility for the working conditions of the people who have helped to make him fabulously wealthy and demanded that people who produce iProducts, no matter where they live, worked in humane conditions making a decent wage.   He could have gone in front of the world and told people, "Look, I have more money than I could spend in two lifetimes or three.  I can no longer tolerate people making me rich while they toil for 12 or more hours a day under extreme quotas for low wages.  I won't accept that any more.  We're going to have to raise the prices of our iPads, and I'm going to take a hit in my personal holdings, but I owe more to the world than just some new, shiny electronic products."


Well, I can dream.  Meanwhile, the Foxconn workers will continue in their dorms, hot bunking in small dorm rooms, for a few bucks a day.


Peace to you, Steve, who gave us so much.


I wrote more about Steve Jobs and the Foxconn workers here.


Updated February 15, 2012


Foxconn and Apple are in the news again.  Here are a few more links:

Apple and Workers' Rights


Campaign for an ethical iPhone


More February Updates


Foxconn Raises Salaries to a Pittance


Following Progressive Pressure, Foxconn Increases Wages for its Employees


Updated October 1, 2012Foxconn Riots Could Lead to a Revival of Middle Class Manufacturing Jobs?