No Jobs, No Purchases

Former Secretary of State under President Clinton, Paul Rubin, believes the current undersizing of the middle class is a problem. Good for him. But he also says that this country can do well in a global economy. I wonder how he thinks that can happen? Sure businesses do well when they manufacture in Mexico or China, because labor costs are dramatically cheaper. The stock market is at its highest, so stockholders are generally doing better. But I have trouble seeing how the working and middle class profit from the global economy.

Walmart alone sent 30,000 manufacturing plants to China. The tired response to that problem is a better education. And what would they have everyone study - provided anyone could afford the wallet-busting college tuition? A friend in middle IT management at a Fortune 500 company received his pink slip, because his job was shipped out to India. He looked for a comparable job for two years to no avail. They lost their home. Finally he went to Baghdad as a consultant...and you know the downside of that opportunity.

So manufacturing and IT have been exported. What about other blue-collar jobs? My brother-in-law, a union electrician crew lead, crossed the country for a year as he searched for work. Nada. He finally changed careers and works for less than half the salary he earned before. What happened to electrician and other construction jobs? Business has imported illegal immigrants to undercut the unions and overcut the bottom line.

But here's the thing. The foundation of our economy is built upon these very jobs. And everyone knows what happens when a structure has an emasculated foundation. It will eventually, inevitably collapse. So tell me, how is the global economy is profiting the blue-collar and white-color jobs?

Remember no jobs - no purchases.