George Rebane
While we’re all tangled up in our fiscal underwear, few noticed that even GE (aka Government Electric) is not doing much to artificially keep jobs here in America. They are expanding their X-ray business to China “to be closer to our customers.” Since China’s healthcare industry will be booming in the coming years, that makes a lot of sense. But then, I thought ours would also be booming as our population gets older. Well, whatever.
The real reason, it turns out, is that GE plans to do its technology development and grow its future manufacturing capacity also in China. Again, that makes sense since China has technical workers coming out of its ying-yang (that’s Chinese for an unmentionable orifice), and here we graduate people who in the large ‘don’t do numbers’. Most of our college majors pump out people for jobs where you say ‘would you be having fries with that?’ a lot.
And, of course, China is now rapidly moving into manufacturing high-end products at an unbeatable cost, while here our National Labor Relations Board is trying to beat crap out of Boeing for expanding its new operations into South Carolina, a right-to-work state. I bet Boeing is also dreaming of moving its aircraft manufacturing business to some other shore – care to guess where?
GE ropa-dopes the light thinkers with its promise not to decrease its existing 120 worker labor force in its existing X-ray manufacturing plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a forced union state (more here). That, dear reader, is known as a sop to Team Obama and the Democrats with whom GE has forged an incestuous relationship.
But the reality remains, our captains of industry are gaming the system to the max. GE knows that if it doesn’t compete in the China market, there are a handful of other international companies that will expand into that market in a heartbeat. And then the result is that GE will continue making overpriced and uncompetitive X-ray units that can only be sold in the US, and then only if the government sticks a gun to the buyer’s head.
So that’s the update from our job creation front as our governments at all levels busy themselves with writing more burdensome and confusing regulations, increasing fees and taxes, and generally creating investment risks out of thin air.
So of course in order to preserve GE it is necessary to accept that it too must go where the wages are lowest, in order to remain competitive.
I have no problem with this, as long as the money made off of Brand USA is distributed equitably to Citizens USA. GE got where it is, as did all the MultiNats based here, on the backs of the average USA citizen.
Now that GE can get stuff built elsewhere cheaper, it is time for payback in a good standard of living for USA Citizens. Turning all the USA citizens except an tiny few out to barren deserts of economic hell, is not going to fly.
And we do not need what we have, more wink wink nod nod to illegals coming across to drive USA workers wages even lower.
Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 25 July 2011 at 02:40 PM
Jack Welch CEO of GE as far back as 2000 has said "Ideally you'd have every plant you own on a barge" -- ready to move if any national government tried to impose restraints on the factories' operations, or if workers demanded better wages and working conditions.
It's a race to the bottom
Posted by: Ben Emery | 25 July 2011 at 03:29 PM
Jack Welch 2012!
Watched POTUS "hate the rich" prezo tonight. Obama is a bigot.
Posted by: Mikey McD | 25 July 2011 at 06:33 PM
Speaking of job loss... just got off the phone with a Dr. in the bay area who is being "forced into retirement by Obamacare and Medicare regulations." Apparently Dr.'s are being forced to use a gov approved software program at the cost of $40k (before learning how to use it). And the beat goes on...
Posted by: Mikey McD | 25 July 2011 at 08:43 PM
I'll bet the software program is made by ATPAC....
Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 25 July 2011 at 09:36 PM
I want to take that bet DougK, what odds are you giving?
Posted by: George Rebane | 25 July 2011 at 10:11 PM
Ben - race to the bottom? I think not. China is moving more people every year into the middle class than we are. They are racing up - Obama is racing us to the bottom. Fox did a story on the Boeing plant in S.C. - the union thug they had on said that Boeing "couldn't move to China". How so? "Well", the union thug explained, "They don't have enough trained workers". I don't care which side of the aisle you sit on, that idiot explains a lot about the absolute stupidity that permeates this country. The British laughed at the Jap Crap motorcycles and Detroit laughed at the stupid little Asian cars. Get to work, Ben! I want to see A holes and elbows. You don't want to work? I know a few billion folks that will. And guess what Ben? They can do a better job than you. Don't think so? Sorry - it's already happened. How much longer will the lib racists in this country continue with their attitude of how the white folk will dominate the world because of our superior intellect or creativity or what ever they think will carry us through? We are broke and squabbling over the few remnants of what is left, rather than getting to work and producing things. Oh - I know, Eco Tourism - that's what the rest of the world wants. Yes, you keep telling yourself that.
Posted by: Scott Obermuller | 25 July 2011 at 11:01 PM
50:50 with a just a token dollar for the stake :)
Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 25 July 2011 at 11:20 PM