koda:
Spoken like a gentleman. Thank you.
koda:
I shouldn’t have assumed your environmental views. And you’re right, no one is going to get rich pumping gas.
What they can get from pumping gas is a little supplemental income, some work experience, and often a chance to learn more – such as auto mechanics – which can lead to better jobs.
At least that’s how it used to be when those jobs existed.
koda:
And I agree with you totally on education. It amazes me how many people don’t see this. I have friends with college age kids who could go to college but they don’t even encourage them. The kids can’t work at Pizza Hut their entire lives.
Part of it is cultural – in some cultures in this country, kids who make good grades are derided and harassed by their schoolmates.
But a good part is structural – we have some awfully bad schools in this country. And sadly, the worst schools are in the poorest areas, which also have the strongest anti-education culture.
koda:
There are a few thing that get me about companies moving overseas:
- When workers in poor nations will work for practically nothing how can we compete with that?
Step back and take a good look at the situtation – we created inflation (partially through things like minimum wage) and it is inflation that accounts for part of the differential.
Next, we shouldn’t
try to compete with countries like Mexico and China. If we have jobs that can be done by people who can’t read or write, those jobs can best be done in nations full of illitrerates. We should compete in areas where other nations can’t – in ultra-high technology.
But that requires a high standard of education. And our education system, as I think we both agree, has failed to reach the standards it must achieve.
koda:
I’m sure you wouldn’t want to or want your kids too. But remember back say in the 50s when you could get a job at a factory, say, and make a decent enough living to raise your family? You can’t do that now and it doesn’t seem right. And even some white collar jobs are going overseas. Call customer service and talk to someone in India.
Note how the person in India speaks several languages –
their education system is outstripping ours.
koda:
- I really do think that the lenient environmental laws (if they have any at all) are a factor when companies move away and I don’t think this is a good thing. Poorer nations shouldn’t sell out their environment and, thus, the home of their future generations, for jobs. And it would be nice if companies had a more long term view of the environment. After all, their kids have to live here too.
What they should do and what they actually do are two different things. Nations like Russia and China have huge areas that are unliveable now – and we didn’t force them to do that.
Nor can we stop them by shutting off trade.
koda:
- I think it encourages the ideal that profit rules all - which the CCC does condemn. There is no consideration for community or society.
Without profits, we have no economy. Without an economy, there are no jobs, schools, hospitals and so on.
When we talk about “capitalism” we have to understand three things:
- There is no other acceptable economic system (as the CCC agrees.)
- Profit is what drives the system.
- Measures taken to help the poor can often hurt them – when they choke out the profit in the system.
