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Global Economy?

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by poncho, Feb 28, 2011.

  1. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    23 Facts Which Prove That Globalism Is Pushing The Standard Of Living Of The Middle Class Down To Third World Levels.

    Here's the first five.

    #1 From December 2000 to December 2010, the U.S. ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars.

    #2 The U.S. trade deficit was about 33 percent larger in 2010 than it was in 2009.

    #3 The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2010 was 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.

    #4 The U.S. economy is rapidly trading high wage jobs for low wage jobs. According to a new report from the National Employment Law Project, higher wage industries accounted for 40 percent of the job losses over the past 12 months but only 14 percent of the job growth. Lower wage industries accounted for just 23 percent of the job losses over the past 12 months and a whopping 49 percent of the job growth.

    #5 Between December 2000 and December 2010, 38 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio were lost, 42 percent of the manufacturing jobs in North Carolina were lost and 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost.

    Click Here to see the rest.
     
  2. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    Almost NO consumer goods are manufactured in the US. Republicans say that jobs go off shore because business taxes are two high. What manufacturing job does anyone thing would return to the US if the business tax was zero? Which of them would pay more than $10/hour?
     
  3. matt wade

    matt wade Well-Known Member

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    No one can really take you seriously when you make silly claims like "Pushing The Standard Of Living Of The Middle Class Down To Third World Levels". Really? You really think that the middle class in America are living at third world levels? If you honestly believe that, then you are farther off your rocker than I thought you were. If you don't believe that, then don't post stupid sensationalism here.
     
  4. mandym

    mandym New Member

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    Manufacturing jobs are down all over the globe not just the US.
     
  5. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    So just how bad are things in Detroit right now?

    Once upon a time, the city of Detroit was one of the shining examples of America's industrial might. Some of the greatest companies in the world provided large numbers of good paying jobs for hard working middle class American workers. Back during the glory days of the 1950s, Detroit was a teeming metropolis of approximately 2 million people, but today the current population is less than a million and residents are leaving in droves. Instead of being a symbol for how great the U.S. economic system is, today Detroit has become emblematic of the deindustrialization of America. Many areas of Detroit now resemble a ghost town. Many once grand structures have been sitting empty for years and years. Unemployment is rampant and crime is rapidly getting worse. We are literally witnessing the death of Detroit. But what did we expect? We have been shipping our factories and our jobs overseas for decades, and now we are paying the price.

    So just how bad are things in Detroit right now? Just consider the following statistics....
     
  6. matt wade

    matt wade Well-Known Member

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    Do you really think that the middle class in America are living at third world levels?
     
  7. blackbird

    blackbird Active Member

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    No

    Third world countries do not have Wal Mart on every street corner--------neither do they sell gasoline on every street corner-------nor do they have car lots selling brand spankin new cars on every corner

    Third world countries do not have supermarkets as we do on every street corner---------Third world countries have no banks on every street corner as we do-------no fast food resterants as we do

    So---------no-----------the middle class is not living at 3rd world level
     
  8. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

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    No, we are very, very blessed. I have been to some impoverished countries, I mean sewage in the street, no running water or utilities, and no medical care. These people are desperate to survive. Guess what, the thought never crosses their mind about whether to get an I phone or a regular phone. I grew up in rural Mississippi in the 50s and 60s and live in rural KY today (lower middle class), and there is no comparison. The only gap I know bigger is the one between the rich man and the beggar in the parable.
     
  9. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    Poverty

    When well-paid “experts” in expensive suits sitting behind desks in state of the art studios discuss the hardships of the Egyptian people, something tells me that these pundits haven’t spent much time interacting with tens of millions of people living in inner city America – just because the mainstream media doesn’t cover them, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They exist in larger numbers in the US than they do in most rebelling countries.

    The rising price of food has played a pivotal role in sparking the uprisings, food prices have a larger impact in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, as they represent a more significant percentage of total income. However, the overall costs of living in the US are significantly higher. When these costs are factored in — medical expenses, housing, transportation, education, etc. – the US poverty level of $22k per year, for a family of four, is comparable to the poverty rate measure in Egypt.

    According to the CIA, the poverty rate in Egypt is 20%. With a population size of 83 million people, this would put 16.6 million Egyptians living in poverty. In the US, the current poverty rate is 16.8%, with a population of 309 million, this puts 52 million Americans living below the poverty line.

    When you consider that the US has 52 million people currently living in poverty, you realize, as shocking as it may sound, that we have a larger number of desperate people in the US than rebelling populations in countries throughout the Middle East and Europe. Overall, in comparison to Egypt, the US population is obviously more geographically spread out, but if you breakdown the demographics, many large US cities have a poverty rate higher than the 20 percent rate in Egypt.

    Consider that, according to low-ball government statistics, nine major US cities have a poverty rate over 25%.

    SOURCE

    As the US mainstream media references the “oppressive” and “corrupt” inequality of wealth throughout Egypt, the hypocrisy is shameful. The inequality of wealth in the United States is currently the most severe it has ever been. Gini coefficient ratings are a measure of a nation’s inequality – the higher a nation scores, the more unequal the society is. The US has a Gini coefficient rating of 45, compared to Egypt’s 34.4, Yemen’s 37 and Tunisia’s 40, making the US the most unequal, “oppressive” and “corrupt” of the four.

    SOURCE
     
    #9 poncho, Mar 1, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 1, 2011
  10. matt wade

    matt wade Well-Known Member

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    Poncho, please answer the question. Do you really think that the middle class in America are living at third world levels? Try and actually answer the question rather than post quotes from articles that are irrelevant. A comparision of people that are living below the "poverty line" in the US and Egypt isn't relevant.
     
  11. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    I assume that you know the difference between the words "pushing" and "at".

    The article quite clearly uses the word "pushing". Nowhere does it or I claim the middle class in America is "at" third world levels.

    With this in mind your question makes no sense. Try to ask questions that make sense and I'll try to answer them.

    And yes a comparison is relevent if we are to fully understand and appreciate the poor economic condition we, the citizens of the United States are living in "at" this present time.
     
    #11 poncho, Mar 1, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 1, 2011
  12. matt wade

    matt wade Well-Known Member

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    If I push you to the ground, you are on the ground. If I push a shopping buggy into the wall, it hits the wall. If you push the standard of living of the middle class to a certain place, it gets there.

    So, do you believe the standard of living of the middle class has been pushed to third world levels?
     
  13. mandym

    mandym New Member

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    It appears that the use of the word "push" is intended to suggest that is the direction we are headed rather than have already arrived. One can be pushed without actually hitting the ground. Pushed does not have to indicate arriving at a destination. One can be pushed in a direction without getting there as of yet. Such use of the word is common in the english language.
     
  14. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    A bunch of dubious "facts" that really don't prove the middle class is being pushed down.

    Exactly what is your point by posting this?
     
  15. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    Drop US wages another ten bucks and raise Indian wages to five bucks and there will be a world wide parity on labor. Jobs will return to the US but we serfs will be in a race to the bottom. Nothing will help US workers except an import duty on consumer goods.
     
  16. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    Don't you all WANT US wages to be pushed down? Other people's wages?
     
  17. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    Yep.

    Union workers priced themselves right out of the market. They got what they deserved.

    They're still at it.
     
  18. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    The unions destroyed the auto industry with their demands for higher wages, full pensions, and gold-plated health insurance policies.

    So the U.S. no longer manufactures many consumer goods but we are world leaders in airplane manufacturing, large machinery and equipment manufacturing, earth moving equipment, computers, servers and networking equipment, telecommunications networks and devices, defense and weapons systems, satellites and space based electronic equipment, avionics electronics, etc. Our focus has changed from consumer to industrial goods but since consumers buy stuff that says Made in China (or elsewhere) they incorrectly assume our manufacturing base is in deep trouble.
     
  19. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    >The unions destroyed the auto industry with their demands for higher wages, full pensions, and gold-plated health insurance policies.

    Documentation?

    Anyone suggest why any company would sign a labor contract which the company knew would bankrupt the company?
     
  20. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    In 2010, our trade deficit in manufactures alone rose 27 percent to $416 billion, far exceeding our trade deficit in crude oil. A decade of such deficits in manufactures has devastated the industrial states.

    From December 2000 to December 2010, 22 states lost a third or more of their manufacturing jobs. Massachusetts, New York and Ohio lost 38 percent of their manufacturing jobs, New Jersey 39 percent, North Carolina 42 percent, Rhode Island 44 percent, Michigan 48 percent.

    < snip >

    With China, the U.S. trade deficit in advanced technology products alone in the past four years has totaled more than $300 billion, with the 2010 deficit in ATP with China reaching an astonishing $92 billion.

    SOURCE

    According to Pat Buchanan's dubious facts we aren't doing so well against China in the advanced technology products area. And "22 states lost a third or more of their manufacturing jobs."

    Yeah, we're lean an mean baby! And all the bad stuff is all the unions fault. Uh huh, right.

    In 1970, jobs in the goods producing industries made up 31.2% of all jobs. Today, they account for 13.8% of all jobs. The apologists will proclaim that corporate America just got phenomenally more efficient and productive. That is another falsehood. In 1970, we were a net exporter, consumer expenditures accounted for 62.4% of GDP, and private investment accounted for 14.7% of GDP. Today, we consistently run $500 billion to $700 billion annual trade deficits, consumer expenditures account for 71% of GDP, and private fixed investment is a pitiful 11.5% of GDP. We’ve degenerated from a productive goods producing society to a consumption based, debt fueled society.

    < snip >

    The most damning (or dubious which ever you prefer) facts that can be garnered from the BLS data relate to how we’ve become a nation of bankers, real estate agents, accountants, lawyers, tax specialists, and fast food fry cooks. Manufacturing jobs have dropped from 25% of all jobs in 1970 to less than 9% today. Jobs in the spreadsheet generating, credit default swap creating, subprime mortgage pushing, frivolous lawsuit filing, tax evasion sector of the economy went from 12% in 1970 to 19% today.


    The misinformation and lies will continue. The MSM keeps repeating that jobs are coming back. You don’t hear which jobs. Hysterically, the four fastest growing job categories according to the BLS are:
    1. Administrative and support services
    2. Food services and drinking places
    3. Couriers and messengers
    4. Performing arts and spectator sports
    SOURCE


    Yeah, I think one attempt was already made just a couple posts back. :smilewinkgrin: Either these are just more dubious facts wrought on us by some twisted left handed anti establishment domestic extremist type or. . . we really have "degenerated from a productive goods producing society to a consumption based, debt fueled society."
     
    #20 poncho, Mar 1, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 1, 2011
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