India

America is Great, Just Not for Most People Who Work for a Living

despairThe never ending stream of bad news for the U.S. work force cascades upon us like a tidal wave of despair. A host of studies have come out which put into numbers what most of us know, the American worker is being taken to the brink of financial ruin and even death.

Suicide has replaced motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death by injury and has increased 15% since 2000. While most people who commit suicide has psychiatric disorders, the fact is higher incidents of suicide do happen during bad economic times. Even more amusing is the government response, as if the best cure for feelings of despair, low self worth is not a damn job along with a healthy dose of respect for working people.

Homeless rates have actually not changed between 2009-2011, but that's only due to a large grant by the Federal government to keep more people sheltered. Now that funds have run dry and under attack by deficit hawks, expect homeless numbers to rise.

Despite the fact that the number of homeless people was essentially unchanged between 2009 and 2011, there is much reason for concern. As this report points out, economic and demographic indicators linked to homelessness continue to be troubling. Homelessness is a lagging indicator, and the effects of the poor economy on the problem are escalating and are expected to continue to do so over the next few years.

Outsourcing Has Its Benefits - Money Landering, Stock Market Crashes and Failed Projects

bubble prickAh, we all know the claim offshore outsourcing is good for America. Seems offshore outsourcing is great for drug dealers and money launders too. Did you know offshore outsourcing enabled money laundering, flash crashes and failed projects?

The latest banking scandal of Standard Chartered laundering Iranian money is all over the news. But did you know Standard Chartered Bank offshore outsourced to India their entire compliance operations?

The DFS probe found that SCB had assured the New York state in May 2010 that it would take immediate steps to comply with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions. However, another regulatory examination in 2011 found continuing and significant Anti Money Laundering failures.

Among these, the bank was outsourcing its "entire OFAC compliance process for the New York branch to Chennai, India, with no evidence of any oversight or communication between the Chennai and the New York offices."

Displacing American Labor Through Foreign Guest Worker Visas

While the Wall Street Journal tries to claim software engineer is the best job, whistle blower Jay Palmer is blowing the lid off the dire straights most American technical workers are facing today. We have brazen labor arbitrage through abuse of the United States foreign guest worker system. American workers with college degrees, high skills and years of experience, are either fired or not hired. Systemically U.S. STEM labor is displaced and replaced by cheap foreign guest workers, some on immigration visas which are not even legal.

China and India Really Are Cheap Labor in Manufacturing

Everybody has heard the reason manufacturing goes to China and services jobs are offshore outsourced to India is cheap labor. Well, there appears to be more than a grain of truth to this claim. The BLS maintains an international labor comparison statistics site. Manufacturing labor costs in China and India are 4% of the United States for 2009.

manufacturing costs region 2009

At the same time though, European labor costs are much more than the United States and one of the reasons Germany's economy is so strong, is their exports and manufacturing sector. Germany clearly has bucked the trend, yet the below percent change for 2009-2010 in manufacturing unit labor costs graph, shows other nations are lowering wages. The great labor arbitrage race to the bottom looks full on.

The GE Deal

To add credibility to rhetoric, and to provide a measure of substance to minor accomplishments, politicians often cite relatively insignificant numbers and data to boost support. The most recent claim of success is being lauded today in Schenectady, N.Y., birthplace of the General Electric Co., to showcase a new GE deal with India, and to announce a restructured presidential advisory board to focus on increasing employment and competitiveness.

Obama, Say What? India Creates American Jobs, Are you Kiddin' Me?

ladyfingersearAnyone else wondering how a President, who just received a red tidal wave that was a protest vote can run off to Asia and declare India as a creator, not a poacher of U.S. jobs?

Maybe it's because he has the queen of offshore outsourcing, Diana Farrell on his National Economics Council. Regardless, President Obama is wrong. India is indeed a poacher of U.S. jobs. How else do you think their offshore outsourcing industry is $50 billion a year, with 60% of that coming from the U.S. representing 1.32 million U.S. jobs lost.

Right now we have 17 million college graduates working as waitresses and sales clerks. We just saw in this 60 Minutes report PhDs, Masters degrees, people with advanced skills, grateful to get a part-time job at Target. We have 11 U.S. industries not employing Americans, U.S. workers, but where most workers are offshore or brought in as cheap labor.

Manufacturing Monday: German firm opens up in US, Volt not 100% American, and drug inspections

 

 

Greetings folks, and welcome to another episode of Manufacturing Monday!  Well it seems another European firm has opened up a factory here in the good ol' US of A.  Meanwhile, Chevy's turning to foreign sources for lithium batteries for it's upcoming Volt.  Finally, we take a look at a push to investigate foreign pharmaceutical labs.

 

MAN likes Cleveland!