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The good capitalist would say that if a firm moves out of a region, that another firm will happily pounce on all of those experienced, employable workers they l
by javajosh 9y ago
The good capitalist would say that if a firm moves out of a region, that another firm will happily pounce on all of those experienced, employable workers they left behind! Hiring is hard, so having a big pool of applicants is great!
What the good capitalist ignores is the extent to which workers become specialized at the firm, become a cog not shaped correctly for any other firm. Call this lack of fungibility. (It's one reason why company loyalty used to a) be a popular feature, and b) work both ways.)
The good capitalist also ignores the fact that the conditions that drove the firm away in the first place will generally drive away other firms, too. Company analysts think in herds. Consider the enormous cost to give up an employed work-force, since acquisition and maintenance cost for a large work-force is high. Why wouldn't a second firm, faced with the same inputs as the first, make the same decision as the first?
- convolvatron 9y agoyou kind of encompassed this, but more generally what happens when the demand for semi-skilled labor just dries up. there is just no need for these people and their work. not in any geography. not for packaging, painting, sorting, inspection, assembly, or any such task. the quasi equilibrium of the 20th century labor economy is gone. i don't know what we're going to do with those people, but it seems likely that a lot of those towns will be completely gone in a generation or less.