adios
04-01-2004, 06:50 PM
A dialog from a msg board today:
Poster 1
As far as jobs go I can speak to where they went in manufacturing. Personally I am trying to eliminate every job I possibly can thru automating processes and robotic equip.
I am driven by normal needs to improve but driven with a greater need due to gov. meddling in the emloyment process. When FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) allows free in and out privileges and State Disability and Workers Comp. pay bonus tax free wages creating an incentive to not work and mis-report, then workers will use it and abuse it.
Populist legislatures are the real cause and we in manufacturing are cutting with a vengeance. Unskilled high pay union jobs are a thing of the past. I will pay my elect. 80k a year no problem but not a high school dropout.
My industry is not amenable to overseas production but the jobs can still be eliminateed.
Poster 2 in reply to Poster 1's post:
I have a friend who is CEO of a small manufacturing company. Recently they expanded a warehouse and the permitting costs were $200,000 which just gave them the governmental ok to start spending more money. She also has a major problem with worker comp including fraud she is fighting. The issue with workers comp is that her main customers such as petco monitor what they can buy knockoffs for from China so she cannot raise prices to cover costs. She is outsourcing some products in china to stay in business but no hiring. She loves her employees, hire handicapped folks but can't expand payroll without eroding the business.
Poster 1 in reply to poster 2:
I am a fairly large self insured employer but the costs for a small business coverage works out to more than mimimum wage per employee. You can get an entire college trained worker overseas for $6.00 an hr.
Perhaps this is the real reason why business's are slow to hire.
A third poster, Poster 3, wrote this in response to Poster 1's original post:
In absolute agreement with you on this one. Relatively unskilled, high pay jobs are out the window. Also, in my industry, the eyes are finally beginning to gaze at the "skilled" white collar jobs as well. Sure, you can outsource them, but a whole lot can be eliminated by "decision-making" automation. In my industry, a 75% reduction in personnel-related costs would level the playing field with "free" labor & brains in China.
Yes, I'm in involved in making this change happen. Tough topic, but those are the kind of gains in productivity that are required to knock out high cost labor & brains as a competitive disadvantage here in the States.
Insightful, doubt that Kerry or Bush will help this situation.
Poster 1
As far as jobs go I can speak to where they went in manufacturing. Personally I am trying to eliminate every job I possibly can thru automating processes and robotic equip.
I am driven by normal needs to improve but driven with a greater need due to gov. meddling in the emloyment process. When FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) allows free in and out privileges and State Disability and Workers Comp. pay bonus tax free wages creating an incentive to not work and mis-report, then workers will use it and abuse it.
Populist legislatures are the real cause and we in manufacturing are cutting with a vengeance. Unskilled high pay union jobs are a thing of the past. I will pay my elect. 80k a year no problem but not a high school dropout.
My industry is not amenable to overseas production but the jobs can still be eliminateed.
Poster 2 in reply to Poster 1's post:
I have a friend who is CEO of a small manufacturing company. Recently they expanded a warehouse and the permitting costs were $200,000 which just gave them the governmental ok to start spending more money. She also has a major problem with worker comp including fraud she is fighting. The issue with workers comp is that her main customers such as petco monitor what they can buy knockoffs for from China so she cannot raise prices to cover costs. She is outsourcing some products in china to stay in business but no hiring. She loves her employees, hire handicapped folks but can't expand payroll without eroding the business.
Poster 1 in reply to poster 2:
I am a fairly large self insured employer but the costs for a small business coverage works out to more than mimimum wage per employee. You can get an entire college trained worker overseas for $6.00 an hr.
Perhaps this is the real reason why business's are slow to hire.
A third poster, Poster 3, wrote this in response to Poster 1's original post:
In absolute agreement with you on this one. Relatively unskilled, high pay jobs are out the window. Also, in my industry, the eyes are finally beginning to gaze at the "skilled" white collar jobs as well. Sure, you can outsource them, but a whole lot can be eliminated by "decision-making" automation. In my industry, a 75% reduction in personnel-related costs would level the playing field with "free" labor & brains in China.
Yes, I'm in involved in making this change happen. Tough topic, but those are the kind of gains in productivity that are required to knock out high cost labor & brains as a competitive disadvantage here in the States.
Insightful, doubt that Kerry or Bush will help this situation.