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I want to emphasize that outsourcing to China really played a large role in this. Even if each one of these hubs starts the new Facebook, that will only generat

by Top19 9y ago

I want to emphasize that outsourcing to China really played a large role in this. Even if each one of these hubs starts the new Facebook, that will only generate about 17,000 jobs (the amount of people Facebook currently employs) plus of course related industries, but still those jobs are likely to be dispersed across the United States. Manufacturing has to come back. First it’s good for America for jobs and all that, but there is also a wartime necessity to it. During WWII we produced 70 planes a day. Today I think it would be hard to hit 4 or 5. Reading about layoffs in the 80s and 90s is awful. I was born in 1990, so I never lived through it really, but it’s like reading about WWI battles. 10,000 there, 2,000 here, 4,000 over there. CEOs demand tax cuts from cities, which they get, and then they still layoff another 7,000. Tech will never ever ever make up for that in any kind of meaningful way. I say this as a Data Center Engineer too.

yuhong 9y ago
Not to mention trade deficits that led to the current debt-based economy, where for example the more money the NSA spends the more government debt is appropriated by Congress. It also led to things like the ad bubble that fuels Google etc (which also drives up house prices for example).
ddnb 9y ago
And what would you like to see produced that doesn't have to compete with products produced more cost effective due to low workers wages abroad? Besides cost this also has to be stuff that needs a lot of workers, or it won't benefit the US in terms of jobs.
MsMowz 9y ago
Automation also played a large role. I can't remember where I read it, but about a year ago I saw and article that showed that automation was destroying more jobs than it created for the first time in known history. We're not going to be able to fix that without a serious change in either our property rights or perhaps a reduction in full time hours, or something with a similar effect.

by Top19 9y ago

yuhong 9y ago

Not to mention trade deficits that led to the current debt-based economy, where for example the more money the NSA spends the more government debt is appropriated by Congress. It also led to things like the ad bubble that fuels Google etc (which also drives up house prices for example).

ddnb 9y ago

And what would you like to see produced that doesn't have to compete with products produced more cost effective due to low workers wages abroad? Besides cost this also has to be stuff that needs a lot of workers, or it won't benefit the US in terms of jobs.

MsMowz 9y ago

Automation also played a large role. I can't remember where I read it, but about a year ago I saw and article that showed that automation was destroying more jobs than it created for the first time in known history. We're not going to be able to fix that without a serious change in either our property rights or perhaps a reduction in full time hours, or something with a similar effect.