Archive for the Economics Category

Faced with a decline in automotive jobs from 1.5 million in the mid-1970s to a mere 150,000 by the end of this decade, the United Auto Workers is seeking to diversify into industries that hold more promise for the future. In the forefront of these is gambling, so the UAW is undertaking a massive campaign to organize casino dealers.
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The head of India’s flagship outsourcing company, Wipro, stated today that an economic downturn in the U.S. could be good news for him.

“Whenever the world is facing cost pressures or facing a little lower demand, then US companies will face the need to take out costs,” said Azim Premji, Wipro’s billionaire CEO.

In other words, if the U.S. experiences a recession, corporations will be under even more pressure to cut costs—and one of the prime ways to do this is to fire U.S. workers, and outsource their jobs to Indian firms like his.
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It’s rare these days to hear a politician criticize “free trade,” i.e. the unencumbered import of cheap goods combined with the export of good jobs.

Democratic hopeful John Edwards, however, has done just that. On the 14th anniversary of the trade deal that Ross Perot associated with a “giant sucking sound” of U.S. jobs being pulled out of the country and into Mexico, Edwards spoke of the “empty promise of NAFTA,” and promised to be a “tough negotiator” on trade deals.

“NAFTA was sold to the American people with promises that it would grow the economy and create millions of new jobs. But today, we know those promises were empty,” he said. “In all three countries [the U.S., Canada, and Mexico], it has hurt workers and families while helping corporate insiders.”

Edwards was clear that the deal benefited “big corporate interests” and harmed average working Americans. But he also stated he would “redo” rather than “repeal” NAFTA. What does he really propose to do? Stay tuned…

In a recent commentary, President Clinton's former Secretary of Labor addressed why the economy is shaping up as the number one issue for voters in the upcoming election.

Wage levels of most occupations have steadily been decreasing since the 1970s. To make up for the shortfall, working families have resorted to various "coping mechanisms."

These mechanisms, however, have now been stretched to their maximums—and the middle class has run out of options.
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Democratic presidential hopefuls squirmed, waffled, and equivocated when asked pointed questions about immigration, the New York Times reports.

Barack Obama at least admitted that "there are circumstances" where illegals drive down wages, but then warned against "pitting" illegal aliens against American workers. Unfortunately, he didn't mean that we shouldn't allow the illegals to compete against Americans for the same jobs. Rather, he meant that we should pretend that they weren't really competing.
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