Politics --> Obama --> Deal with it or don't

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Which is why a "Green New Deal" to replace those old jobs with Green Collar Jobs would be the best and most rational apprach to alleviate short term suffering.

Too bad the political eunuch in chief didn't and doesn't have the gutso to enact such a program.

I'm asserting that it makes us better off as a whole, not just "certain" Americans; that is, it is Kaldor-Hicks efficient. Actual slave labour (to the extent that it is being used) is a different problem because we as a society regard that as a moral issue that should trump the profit motive.


As I said, a case could be made for helping displaced workers transition to new careers. But empirically, there is no such thing as structural unemployment in the long run, so it's not nearly so great an evil as you seem to be making it.

Ahh, see I fully intend to choke the Chinese dragon on Western culture, which is not to say that I wish the Chinese people ill, but that I want to see their government forced into making reforms. They've done very well at massively increasing their economy, but as a by-product they now have a substantial middle class that they don't know what to do with. The recent tiff with Google is but one sign that the Chinese Politburo are actually feeling threatened, the burgeoning middle class isn't so much threatened by them as inconvenienced, a very important distinction. I'm cribbing a bit from an editorial I read recently that outlined some of this and drew comparisons to Taiwan and South Korea in the 1980's, an assessment I happen to agree with. I also agree with the editorialist that the US government ought to finance massive proxy servers to allow people in repressed nations to bypass restrictive firewalls, this step alone would hasten the process considerably and effect numerous totalitarian regimes at a stroke, always a good move. Plus, I happen to like watching third world dictators sputter in helpless rage, it's good for the soul. Anyway, not doing business with the Chinese government might be a moral victory, but selling them the seeds of their own political destruction will benefit far more people in the long run, both Chinese and American.



I doubt anyone actually likes to cost people their livelihoods, but I accept it as a vital part of the economic cycle. I think it can and should be handled as humanely as possible, but I don't think that protectionism and subsidies are the way to do that. Look at what happened with Detroit and the rustbelt, people making close to six figures for pushing the button on an automated assembly line helped bring down the whole local economy. Better to invest some money in retraining and re purposing the workforce than artificially keeping them employed at obsolete jobs at a very real cost to the economy. One of the few places that I don't have a problem spending tax dollars is education, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to spend the money to either teach people new trades or new ways to apply old ones.

Take my own education as a gunsmith, everything I do is technically obsolete but I still have plenty of demand for my trade. I use a manual mill and engine lathe, no CNC or automation, I work with files, grinders, polishing equipment, welding equipment, all manner of low-tech stuff, and I can demand a lot of money for my services because of how I apply them. None of these skills will become obsolete in my lifetime because you can't program a machine to fix guns, BS with the customer and figure out what they want done, utilize creative methods and solutions, etc etc. I happen to be a pretty sharp guy, but it doesn't take a genius to do what I do, if you saw some of the people I went to school with you'd be astounded at the quality of the work they eventually became capable of. The only threat to my trade is political, it can't be offshored, it can't be automated, and the demand has never been higher (thank you President Obama!). My trade is also far from unique, there are many skilled trades that may be unorthodox or off the beaten path that possess all of the virtues of mine without the constant political threat, that virtually anyone can do. In my case, even if the worst should happen politically I could still support myself with my wide variety of skills, whether by making garden sculptures (I get requests all the time...), fixing things for which parts are no longer available, building mechanical prototypes on commission, the list is endless. Incidentally, I had no problem securing a loan for my schooling despite being worth nothing on paper, my training took 14 months of 4 days a week 8 hours a day during which I fully supported myself by working a delivery job at night, and came to around $20k including all the tools required to get started in the industry. If I can do this, just about anyone can.

And the lesson comes full circle. I really do have you and AG to thank for pointing me in the right direction on this one, I'd never been terribly interested in economics until I saw how you guys laid out some of the principals and I recognized the logic in them. My younger brother majored in Econ, so I was able to pick his brain a bit on the finer points and get some book recommendations so I wouldn't feel completely adrift on the subject. I'd be loath not to mention a slim volume that laid out the idea of comparative advantage in the form of a A Christmas Carol style narrative where a television company owner is shown alternate futures resulting from protectionism and free trade respectively. The name of the book escapes me, but it did an excellent job of illustrating the concept to an economics neophyte such as myself.

It's one of the reasons I want to learn a trade rather than an office job. You can't send the guy who builds your house or fixes your stuff overseas because they have to be where you need them. People like programmers however, the work they do can be done overseas for a much cheaper price.

I actually thought about going into business for myself as well. This way, I can run the business the way I want, and don't have to deal with other people's BS...for the most part anyways.

Everything involving the economy, as well as life in general, is an endless, and sometimes viscious cycle.

I'll give you an example. I work in a distribution center, owned by a small corporation. It's not really want I love to do, but it pays the bills. Anyways, here's the scenario:

*A very large retail company with a lot of purchasing power (I'm sure you can guess who it is), basically dictates to our company that we have to deal with them on their terms (lower prices and cut costs), or risk going out of business.

*Our company is forced to deal with it, so in turn, they pretty much pass this on to us and "dictate" that we abide by their BS rules, or else risk losing our jobs. They recently forced us to take a pay cut.

*We, as workers, are forced to deal with our company's BS, so now that we are making less money, we can't afford to buy expensive goods, so where do we end up shopping? That's right, that same large retail company I mentioned earlier. We then basically dictate to them that they lower their prices, or go out of business.

*The cycle continues all over again.