"ain't It The Truth!!?"

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE INJAPAN) for 5AM. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA) After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet(MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) filled it with GAS from Saudi Arabia and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (Made In Malaysia), Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE.! ) and turned on his TV(MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.. AMERICA ....

[The Conch Man Past Goumba President & BigFrank's Cigar Buddy! Find all posts View Profile Close The Conch Man]

You unrattled the truth Riverdee ~~

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Because Joe goofed off in school, and had teachers and parents who didn't set high standards of performance for him because it might hurt his self-esteem, Joe as an adult does not have the skills to be competitive in the labor market.

Since he and his union then insist that he should be paid four times as much as workers in another country are paid to produce the same product (and their product is usually higher quality as well), Joe's company finds that they have two choices: they can go bankrupt or they can do the manufacturing overseas.

****

We can bitch and moan about the situation all we want, but the reality is that the reason those products are imported is because the US workers and factories are no longer economically competitive in manufacturing those items.

The solution is not to wail and moan and pretend the problem doesn't exist; the solution is to once again get serious about producing a labor force that

• is educated and trained,
• believes hard work is its own reward
• knows that sometimes work is boring but still requires being done well
• recognizes that when you screw up there are painful consequences
• accepts responsibility for their screwups and learns from them instead of blaming others
• realizes that other people (such as bosses and co-workers) don't exist in the world simply to make you feel good
• understands that deferred gratification is actually good and not a punishment
• realizes a job is a privilege and not an entitlement,
• understands it is wrong to put in a half-effort and take out full paycheck.

There is a word for the Joes who know those concepts; that word is "employed". Needless to say, those Joes are not the Joes of the vignette.

[WanderLust Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WanderLust]

Steve,

The handle you use suggests caveman type guy. However, your post here indicates a much higher level of intelligence and good common sense as well.

[Tinkerbell Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tinkerbell]

I thought the reason the jobs are going overseas is because the workers live 20 people to a 1-room shack, live on a dirt road with no electricity or plumbling, eat a bowl of rice for supper every night, and will work for 20 cents per hour. There are no environmental regulations, so pollution is rampant.