When people complain about overseas labor and its low wages are they comparing what we make compared to them..

Question

or what they make compared to people in their society. Because it wouldn't make much sense if they are comparing them to us. Our standards of living are totally different. Seems to me that most poor people should be happy they have a job, even if it's kinda low pay. I mean, what is the alternative? Learn me some on the issue.

Answer 1

These overseas companies that offer low wages are taking employment from the countries where they originated and the products are inferior to where they originated from. eg( Blunstone boots have moved to india putting 550 Australians out of work because the company can no longer compete with the cheap overseas companies.) This is only one example.

Answer 2

This is not an easy question to answer briefly so please excuse the long answer,

The US is becoming a vitim of its own success, people want to work for more pay and pay less in the shops. Unfortrunately higher wages drive domestic manufacturing costs up, which in turn drives up the retail prices as there are margins to be maintained.

Therefore the only way for businesses to give the people what they want is to move the manufacturing offshore where labour rates are much cheaper, therefore goods can be made much cheaper and sold for less in the shops with the same profit margins as goods manufactured domestically sold at a higher price.

Would you pay 100 bucks more for a TV if it had a made in USA sticker on it instead of made in Taiwan?

Unfortunatley this will eventually have a negative effect on the US economy. Mainly because the people who were employed assembling these products are now out of a job.

Countries which are currently providing cheap labour, develop stronger economies over time which in turn drives costs back up and forces the manufactures to move to cheaper countries. Poland is an excellent example of this.

Unforunately businesses are now looking at the poorest countries with no social secuity systems or state benefits and little protective legislation and costs are lowest.

The people in these countries have a limited choice of starve or work for a dollar or two a week so that at least you can put some food on the table. Standards of living in these countries are very low and I bet if you lived there you'd be grateful for a job, but you'd still want something better for your under nurished and deprived family. You'd be surprised at some of the large household names that have been exposed as subcontracting to sweat shops in 3rd world countries.

As members of a more developed economy we need to stop wanting everything cheaper and take an ethical stance on using (in some cases exploiting) labour in less economically developed countries, otherwise the only thing left in the US will be service industries, restruants shops etc..

So practice saying, "do you want fries with that?", because thats all that may be left for you to do in 15 years time.

Answer 3

You're right, but when you extend it further, you can see the damage done. XYZ Corp sets up an o'seas factory and closes its Iowa factory. OR, XYZ tells them, "If you Americans ask for more money, then we'll simply go overseas," and begins to shift manufacturing overseas anyhow. Meanwhile, the stock market sets new highs, corporations are flush with cash [and pay a less tax than before--or no tax], and unemployment is LOW--conditions which trigger better wages and conditions for working Americans PER SIMPLE ECONOMIC THEORY. But the opposite is happening! [Then, XYZ's competitor, ABC Corp, prepares the same strategy to survive].

Answer 4

You're absolutely right. People complain about exporting US jobs overseas and causing Americans to lose jobs ... well that's one issue. But there's no question it's very good for the poor people in the target country to be given more job opportunities. They freely apply for those jobs, and do so because this "globalization" is indeed better than their alternatives, such as starving or prostitution.

People who complain that overseas lbor is "exploited" should visit that country, and ask the poor exploited laborers if they'd prefer to get laid off.

Answer 5

I think they are complaining about North American companies moving jobs overseas and giving them to low wage earners in India and Asia.

Everything from accounting to customer service to help desks are moving over there. Cheaper for the companies for sure, but the quality is not the same.

Answer 6

Millions of American Workers Have not had an increase in the minimum wage since 1997!!The way they want to raise it is on a graduated basis from $5.15 hr to $7.25 hr by 2010!!! The increase amounts to 17.6 cents an hour for 12yrs of waiting for the increase in our hard earned paychecks!! Would you work for 12yrs for 17.6 cents an hour increase in your Pay?? That's Insane!! DO THE MATH >THANKS FOR NOTHING!!>MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES!! "Only in America"