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Do you have data on this? Because I looked and couldn't find anything reliable going past ~1964.

by fhood 9y ago

adventured 9y ago
Take one example. US manufacturing has become radically more productive over time: https://i.imgur.com/exTxW1O.jpg https://i.imgur.com/exTxW1O.jpg The primary reason the US lost so many manufacturing jobs since the peak, wasn't China, it was persistent gains in manufacturing productivity. At the exact same time that is occuring, and while domestic economic growth slows, you import millions of low skill laborers into a declining or stagnant labor demand situation (for that type of labor). What is going to happen? It's obvious: wage suppression due to labor over-supply. It is simple supply and demand. Tech workers have gotten to see this up close & personal, as companies from IBM to Microsoft intentionally imported lower cost foreign engineer labor to undercut higher cost domestic engineers. It's why the Koch brothers are such big fans of unlimited low-skill immigration (and why so many business Republicans love it, that by itself should throw up a red flag), the entire point is to hold wages down and hold down business costs to maximize corporate profitability. This is also why almost no other developed nation allows unlimited or large amounts low-skill immigration, including Canada. Most developed nations use either a ridiculously strict approach to any immigration (eg Japan, and presently Scandinavia), or specifically operate a skill restricted / merit-based immigration system (eg Canada and Australia).
- fhood 9y ago
  Sure, possibly valid points. But the original comment made an explicit point that I can't verify because I cannot find wage data going back past 1964.
  - abakker 9y ago
    https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/02/19/technological-unemployment-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/02/19/technological-unemploy... Look at the charts on labor force participation rate, and read his analysis. I'd say it is very carefully done.
sprash 9y ago
I first saw the plot here: https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/15558/productivity-vs-real-earnings-in-the-us-what-happened-ca-1974 https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/15558/producti...

Do you have data on this? Because I looked and couldn't find anything reliable going past ~1964.

by fhood 9y ago

Do you have data on this? Because I looked and couldn't find anything reliable going past ~1964.

Take one example. US manufacturing has become radically more productive over time: https://i.imgur.com/exTxW1O.jpg https://i.imgur.com/exTxW1O.jpg The primary reason the US lost so many manufacturing jobs since the peak, wasn't China, it was persistent gains in manufacturing productivity. At the exact same time that is occuring, and while domestic economic growth slows, you import millions of low skill laborers into a declining or stagnant labor demand situation (for that type of labor). What is going to happen? It's obvious: wage suppression due to labor over-supply. It is simple supply and demand. Tech workers have gotten to see this up close & personal, as companies from IBM to Microsoft intentionally imported lower cost foreign engineer labor to undercut higher cost domestic engineers. It's why the Koch brothers are such big fans of unlimited low-skill immigration (and why so many business Republicans love it, that by itself should throw up a red flag), the entire point is to hold wages down and hold down business costs to maximize corporate profitability. This is also why almost no other developed nation allows unlimited or large amounts low-skill immigration, including Canada. Most developed nations use either a ridiculously strict approach to any immigration (eg Japan, and presently Scandinavia), or specifically operate a skill restricted / merit-based immigration system (eg Canada and Australia).

fhood 9y ago
Sure, possibly valid points. But the original comment made an explicit point that I can't verify because I cannot find wage data going back past 1964.
- abakker 9y ago
  https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/02/19/technological-unemployment-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/02/19/technological-unemploy... Look at the charts on labor force participation rate, and read his analysis. I'd say it is very carefully done.

sprash 9y ago

I first saw the plot here: https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/15558/productivity-vs-real-earnings-in-the-us-what-happened-ca-1974 https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/15558/producti...