Re: Interconnectedness of Employment Markets (was Bankruptcy

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On 4/03/06, Mr. Blue wrote:

I know you didn't address this to
me. I haven't finished reading the
threads. I have to tell you what's
laughable. The fact when any one
says these are jobs Americans wont
do! That's baloney. I'll grant you
these Mexican migrant workers are
hard working people. I know some
American young folk who would not
only do their work, but could do
just as good a job. These jobs are
being "takin" away from us. Just a
bunch of crap that always comes out
of Washington. The toilet paper
capital of the world!

> On 4/02/06, L wrote:
>> On 4/02/06, Mr. Blue wrote:
>> Of course, we're also continuing
to shed lower middle
>>> class blue collar jobs with many
of those jobs going to illegals
(construction
>> and
>>> meat packing come to mind).
>>>
>> Most whites and blacks won't do
those jobs anyway.
>
> Didn't Americans do these jobs in
the past? Also, don't basic
economic principles
> dictate that if the price point
(wages) were to increase that the
supply of people
> willing to work at that price
point would also increase? I'm
amazed that so many
> commentators and politicians can
get away with their claims that we
have shortages of
> people in various fields and that
the alleged shortages are
intractable problems that
> can only be solved by importing
foreigners. They always purposely
forget to mention
> that supply is a function of the
price point.
>
>> The illegals work for less
>> than the minimum wage so
Americans can enjoy goods/services
at low prices.
>
> The prices on the front-end are
low. However, the invisible prices
on the back-end
> are high. Who pays to educate the
illegals' children? Who pays for
their hospital
> care? Who pays the environmental
costs associated with having a
higher population?
> Who pays when the wealthy who own
the means of production can keep a
larger percentage
> of the wealth produced as profit
instead of having to pay it out to
their employees as
> a result of an artificially high
supply of labor?
>
>> You've been looking for
meatpacking jobs and losing out to
illegals?
>
> No, but I recognize that my
economic fortune is partially a
function of the overall
> state of the employment market.
My belief is that I am more likely
to enjoy a higher
> standard of living in a wealthy
country with a large and vibrant
middle class (such as
> the U.S.) than I would in a third
world country. Also, it has a
negative effect on
> our client base. Where will
solos' clients come from if the
lower middle class and
> the middle class sink into poverty?
>
> Furthermore, the employment market
is interconnected and malaise in one
area could
> translate into an increased supply
of available labor in other areas as
people obtain
> training for other fields.
>
> Have you considered why we have so
many lawyers (or MBAs, etc.)? Why
is it that so
> many people go to college and then
law school instead of just beginning
work after
> high school? Why are so many
people discontent with a bachelor's
degree? Why do so
> many science Ph.D.'s feel a need
to go to law school? Answer--
because they felt that
> they needed the law degree because
the job market for people with
bachelor's degrees
> and science Ph.D.'s isn't very
good. The result is an oversupply
of lawyers,
> including patent lawyers. (When I
started law school, the entry-level
requirement for
> becoming a patent lawyer in the
chemstry/biotech area was a
bachelor's degree. Today
> it is a Ph.D. and those same
people who are now established in
the field with
> bachelor's degrees wouldn't even
receive as much as a rejection
letter if they were to
> apply for entry-level jobs in the
field today (using the resumes they
had when they
> graduated from law school). This
is an example of how malaise in one
market can
> affect the supply of labor in
another market.) More broadly, in
general we're
> witnessing what amounts to an
education arms race and the result
will be
> college-educated unemployed and
underemployed. The people who might
have previously
> happily earned middle class
incomes working construction and
meat-packing are now
> flooding into the universities.
Contrary to the opiate the
politicians and the media
> are trying to sell to us,
education is not a substitute for
sound economic policy.
>