This is old news, but my excuse is that it took me a while to find it again, after I first saw it.
This report suggests that the economics of manufacturing AND delivery is causing some companies to rethink their decisions with regard to "off shoring".
Perhaps, if we want to bring jobs back to the US, the Federal and State Governments should be focusing on infrastructure and simplification of rules and regulations.
If we accept that the days of the UAW riding high may be over and scope down our expectations a tad (having grown up in the 1940s and 50s my goal was to some day earn $10,000 a year) we can again have good, solid manufacturing jobs. That said, with jobs coming back, unions could again grow in size and responsibility and partner with management. At the same time, manufacturing executives need to accept that they are not going to be the next Bill Gates, compensation wise. Going along with that would be a recognition that not every smart manager is a smart manager. If author Nassim Taleb♠ is to be believed, a lot of times successful managers are just folks who have caught a long run of luck.
Put another way, if we are all willing to share and share alike we can have a bigger pie overall.
Thanks
Regards — Cliff
♠ For example, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable and Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
1 comment:
We may accept that the UAW is humbled, but the Teamsters and the SEIU are enjoying good times, expecially with The One in office. While you are correct that states need to be a bit more welcoming with better infrastructure and rules, it is all of the other burdens that we place on companies, large and small, that have driven them off shore. When you have biggies like AT&T, Caterpiller, John Deere taking huge write-downs just for Federal compliance with Obamacare.....that alone.....and then add in all the other parasitic demands.....it becomes a bit less onerous to take it to another venue.
As an MBA, I can tell you that anybody in the production business is out to make a profit, and to maximize that profit, but not drive off the folks who make that profit possible...the customer. If you price too high....for any reason....they abandon you for cheaper alternatives. And contrary to the Democrat mantra, capitalists are not greedy...they don't want to kill the golden goose. But, when the governments begin to add to the cost of doing business, profit must go down and/or price must go up. Neither outcome is acceptable.
Just my ultra-right wing, gun-totting, evangelistic Christian arch capitalist opinion.
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