Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
If the cost of living in the USA continues to climb, but the average hourly wage for manufacturing work slides down to the $9-12/hour range to compete with China, is this "livable", or is that simply the definition of the working poor? What quality of life can somebody making those wages expect to "enjoy" for the rest of their life in the "land of opportunity"?
So then its time those that are unsatisified with $9 to $12 hour wage, advance their education and better themselves. No reason to continue in the lower wage bracket, unless of course they have no will to better themselves.
Right, and everybody is equal.
Sir, there are people that can work in a manufacturing plant, work WELL in a manufacturing plant and do a DARN GOOD JOB, but they are never going to be a rocket scientist, carry a PhD, or even a University degree.
Having everybody in management means there is nobody to manage.
Contrary to what is peddled to us in school when we are young, we are not all cut from the same cloth and certain people are better at certain things than others. Often significantly better.
We all find our niche and if that niche is working in a Snap-On plant making ratchets and doing a darn good job of it, that person deserves to be earning a wage that is adequate enough to feed and cloth their family, provide them a modest place to live and afford them reliable transportation. That means that they need to be earning more than $9.00 or $12.00 an hour.
The thing is outsourcing takes engineering, technical and administrative jobs away too. Then also foreign technical and professional workers have been brought in. Everyone could go and get all the engineering or other technical degrees you want but that doesn't mean there will be a job for you or one commensurate with your education. The only real solution to outsourcing jobs, importing, and bringing in foreign workers to incease competition for jobs and to lower wages is to stop doing that. If manufacturing jobs that formerly paid $20+ plus benefits are going down to $8-14 and no benefits, what's to stop a slide in professional jobs? Nothing, and certainly not more people getting degrees.