Beating His Breast - Kerry at his Best

[Zeno]

Yesterday on C-Span (I think, I could be wrong) I listened to some of a Kerry speech. He was at a train station and talking to a crowd, the train made a good backdrop.

He was ranting at a good clip and his voice was a bit ragged but he forged on in good measure. He is, as your next president, going to spent the proper amount of money on education; he is, as your next president, going to assure every American a good job and stop the exporting of jobs overseas; he is, as your next president, going to assure every American good health care; he is, as your next president, going to assure every American security and safety against terrorism at home and abroad. He is going to do all this. Then he stated in the next breath - as the most important final point of all - And, I will not be running up the deficit to historic levels like the current administration.

He said this with the morbid earnestness that only a seasoned mountebank could muster - His long craggy face screwed into the most innocent and cherubic likeness that I have seen from him. He was, I take it, very serious in every statement.

And everyone cheered.
And everyone waved a little flag.
And everyone believed him.


Le Misanthrope

[moondogg]

[ QUOTE ]
he is, as your next president, going to assure every American a good job and stop the exporting of jobs overseas;

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is not to imply that every American deserves a good job...

Anywho, nobody really likes to hear that if unemployment every reaches zero the economy will crumble due to lack of competition for employment. Employment would become nothing but unions and government jobs, both of which actively destroy competition and progress (IMHO). Oh well.

[nicky g]

I don't really agree with your analysis about job market competition, but there are other good reasons that this is a foolish thing to say: exporting jobs overseas that can be done more cheaply over there is often, in fact usually, good for the economy as a whole. The problems come when it affects entire communiteis based on a single industry, and it;s very important to manage the transitions effectively and ensure new opportunities, training etc for those who've been directly affected (one reason I'm a supporter of activist government; the private sector tends to leave these places to rot). There's also the issue of why those jobs cost less to do abroad - if it;s because a 9 year old is making tables out of rainforest wood while chained to an old dangerous machine, then there are very good reasons to object to sending it abroad (which Kerry to be fair has emphasised). But on the whole, the idea that a country should try to do everything itself when it come be done more cheaply somewhere else is absurd.

[adios]

Yeah I saw it on FoxNews yesterday. I believe the train stop shown was in Las Vegas, New Mexico. A sleepy little town north of Santa Fe that is home to New Mexico Highlands University. Not much industry in Las Vegas, New Mexico and not much of a concern for terrorist strikes there either. Not much concern about budget deficits in Las Vegas,NM either. Kerry was preaching to the choir. Beautiful part of the country though especially areas north of Las Vegas, NM in Mora county.

[andyfox]

I dont' think he was preaching to the choir. He's preaching to the electoral college. How close was New Mexico in 2000?

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
How close was New Mexico in 2000?

[/ QUOTE ]

Extremely close. In fact, the offical results were not known until a few days after the end of voting. But it was not big or important news because of the Florida hubbub.

-Zeno

[adios]

Gore by 400 votes. I'd bet a lot of money that the Las Vegas area voted overwhelmingly for Gore last election. Bush will have more strength in the Albuquerque area (close split) and in southern New Mexico. Northern New Mexico is a strong enclave for the Democrats. But since New Mexico will probably be close again, Kerry needs to get out the vote so perhaps that's why he gave his speech in Las Vegas.

[cardcounter0]

Interesting. I thought Las Vegas was home to some of the largest Republican Dinosaurs still alive. You mean the casinos don't determine how every one votes like they determine every thing else in Clark county?

[adios]

Which is the Las Vegas I was referring to in the thread and which I explicitly mentioned in other posts in this thread.

[cardcounter0]

Actually Las Vegas is considered a big terrorist target.
They also have the Yucca Mountain issue.
Large Hispanic Vote in both areas, which favors Bush also.

[MMMMMM]

Good points overall, Nicky, about some of the benefits of outsourcing.

I have one question to ask you though. You stated this:

"The problems come when it affects entire communiteis based on a single industry, and it;s very important to manage the transitions effectively and ensure new opportunities, training etc for those who've been directly affected..."

Do you really, really believe that government is somehow capable of doing this--let alone doing it in a cost-efficient manner?

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually Las Vegas is considered a big terrorist target.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would Las Vegas, New Mexico of all places be a terrorist target? That's insanity sorry.

[cardcounter0]

Private Industry is the most efficient method to do things right? So all the Government has to do is say "Hey, Private Industry, if you train and retain an outsourced worker, we will give you a $x.xx tax credit." Then all the Government has to do is step out of the way.

Presto! Outsourced workers will be retrained in the most cost efficent manner possible, with very little cost to the taxpayer (opposed to the Govt. trying to set up programs, training, evaluations, etc.).

Just take a little research to figure out exactly how much the $x.xx tax credit should be.

[cardcounter0]

Didn't even realize there was a Las Vegas, New Mexico.
/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If sheep could vote would they have a majority over the people there?

[MMMMMM]

Initiating and implementing a tax credit involves unavoidable overhead.

Also, a tax credit itself is not free but is an indirect transfer of wealth from some taxpayers, and from American citizens as a whole, to a select group of others. So Joe Blow in Miami is subsidizing the retraining of Johnny Burger in Pennsylvania.

Then when the displaced area employees are retrained and the tax credit no longer useful, it is eventually eliminated but not without much ballyhoo and wasteful fighting over it first. Then at last the employers have to readjust their hiring plans due to no more tax credit.

Not exactly a very cost effective method overall in my view, although undoubtedly there are worse methods.

Simply put I don't believe there is any truly cost-effective method by which government can retrain or subsidize retraining. All methods range from somewhat costly to very costly.

Let the individual go get retrained somehow on his own...that's what 6 months of paid unemployment benefits are good for, instead of watching TV for 6 months.