Wake up America, It's Time to Get to Work! (employment, generation, Mexicans)

[Lincolnian]

What is the future of business in America? As I drove down several popular roads today I couldn't help but notice the large number of businesses, small and large, that have closed in the past couple of months.

Small retail and office complexes new and old have numerous "for lease" signs prominently displayed.

Walmart, the box stores, and numerous dollar stores are peddling cheap China imports and many are buying up disposable products soon to be discarded due to failure, limited life, or built in obsolescence.

Small businesses that sell better-quality, artesian, or American-made products are quickly disappearing.

The only mainstays are franchised low cost fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, and package stores.

It's time for America to get back to work. It's time to get out from in front of the Nintendo, Big Screen TV, or shopping frenzy at the Cheap-o-Mart and start making something that people need, that we can sell to others, and that provide good-paying jobs for our citizens.

Alternative energy products, electric and fuel-cell vehicles, conservation products, communication products, high technology, etc. are an important part of our future.

Absent of any "real" needed products we will become service slaves to China and other producers.

Burgers anyone? Have a nice day!

[01Snake]

Hell, stop by Texas sometime. They cannot build strip-centers, malls, shopping centers fast enough around here.

[StillwaterTownie]

The problem is that Americans would have to be willing to work as little as 25 cents an hour before even basic things like clothing and shoes can once again be made in America.

Anyway, the goal of big business is to move Chinese and other overseas merchandise cheaper into America. To do this they want to lay off dock workers in California and give those jobs to Mexicans further down the coast in Mexico who are willing to work for considerably less. Then load all that stuff into trucks for Mexican drivers, who will also be working for less, to haul off to the USA. The only way to stop this plan is to stop buying this made in China junk, most of it we don't even need. Stay out of stores like Hobby Lobby, or your area's equivalent, because about everything they sell is made in China.

[RedNC]

It will all balance out over time. In time China’s economy will surpass ours and we will be the low cost labor solution.
The only problem is the ones that know how to build things will be too old to do the work and the current generation will only know how to video play games.

[LM1]

Originally Posted by RedNC

It will all balance out over time. In time China’s economy will surpass ours and we will be the low cost labor solution.

Uh, no.
Considering that their standard of living is about a kajillion orders of magnitude beneath ours and there are a billion of them to begin with, we will never, ever, ever, ever see the day when 3rd World Communist labor is priced competitively with American/Western labor. Ever. Not even in the same universe.

We must accept the fact that the worlds manufacturing base will shift to wherever the labor is cheapest and find new strategies to maintain our standard of living. "Stop buying things made in China" is not only impractical, it's unrealistic and near impossible (as evidenced by the computer you're using to read this very post)

Right now, we are living on the left-overs of the obscene economic growth our nation saw over the past century. Even though our population is growing and our exports are decreasing (which is the sole vehicle that can create economic wealth and increase the aggregate standard of living) we were just so spectacularly successful over the past century that we can still "live off the fat" for another half-century or so without really feeling the pain.

The left-overs (plus credit) should be enough to keep our present standard of living propped up for another generation or two. After that, we either figure something out, or maybe petition to join the UK as a commonwealth.

[baystater]

OK here where America's future is at.

FOOD PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORT!

look right now china is plowing over it rice fields to build factories to build junk product. Also China's natural aquifers are stress to capacity and most of the other water is pretty polluted. So as I see China is heading for disaster when it comes to producing food. India as well is having the same type of problems.
So both India and China are going to have trouble growing enough food to feed there own people. Now that's where we come in. We have and most likely continue to be one of if not the best producers of food on the planet. And while I know that there is a lot of mechanization in farming now and illegal labor. I think there are still great possibilities for both Agribusiness and Meat production in our country.

Hmmmm?????? Isn't it funny that during the late 19Th century till now we have left farm for manufacturing job and office jobs. But now because of a changing world we need to (possibly) return to the farm in order to keep American Industry chugging along.

[LM1]

I've been crowing about this for near a decade... IMO, the best mid to long term investment vehicle out there, right now, is fertile farmland. It (good dirt) has appreciated pretty monstrously over the past 5 years or so, but I do believe that there is a lot of gains still to be had in farmland holdings, particularly with ethanol and biodiesels coming into their own.

[bily4]

The only problem with all of this is that with the mechanization of agriculture, this scenario while very plausible would not really lend itself to the maintenance of a viable middle class.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by bily4

The only problem with all of this is that with the mechanization of agriculture, this scenario while very plausible would not really lend itself to the maintenance of a viable middle class.

While I agree that mechanization and illegal labor will be possible stumbling block. I think that there is so much farmable land in America and.........this is the big AND that there will be enough demand world wide to allow for more Americans to enjoy a lower middle class standard.

Also please consider all the other job created with the revival of mass farming. That is all jobs related to packing and shipping food, science jobs created to make our crops better yielding and meat producing safer. Jobs for buying and selling of individual food commodities (Chicago exchange). I sure there are other jobs that would come along as well that I can't think of right now. I really believe that food is the future of America.

[Coffee Mate]

Great thread!

Indeed America needs to get back to work...real work.
Another perspective is that we need to reinvigorate a inclusive broad based domestic economy and not continually push such a exclusive mono-culture economy....where only certain types of jobs for a very select few are prevalent. [all the rest being relegated to menial jobs with no future at all]
It has often been said that the U.S. is now a 'service sector only' nation....well perhaps that is not such a good thing after all.
The population is made up of a wide range of people with varying skills educations interests and backgrounds. There should be reasonable occupations for our citizens...based on their widely diverse skills.
More people in the U.S. should have the opportunity to work in gainful and meaningful employment...and not be faced with one of few choices for jobs.
The government should do its best to facilitate the reinvigoration of traditional industries and occupations [by cutting taxes among other things] all of which could have been updated with the new technologies that have been developed in the last several decades....Tax incentives for redevelopment of old facilities...modernization and the adding of 'green' and sustainable technologies to old processes...
All sectors could benefit from this 'green' approach to the traditional methods previously employed to produce goods and services. In fact the adaptation of 'green technology' to hitherto "old" industries might have a two pronged effect...jump start the industry its self and lead to the development of stand alone industries that do nothing more than help other industries go 'green'. Sure we inherited a huge mess in terms of the environmental impacts of 'modern development'...but perhaps we can make lemonade out of all those lemons....take the downside and turn it to our advantage....Instead of looking at all the empty and forlorn old factory buildings....and boo-hooo-ing..... instead of blowing them up....or trying to turn them all into hugely expensive lofts and coffee shops...neither of which do much to help the national economy as a whole...imagine them as a spaces with huge potential....and imagine Americans as the classic calculated-risk taking...."can-do" problem solving hard workers we have almost always been....