How Does Anybody Make a Living These Days? by Bill Sardi

How Does Anybody Make a Living These Days? by Bill Sardi: Again, the pace of change in the world may seem cruel, but sympathetic news articles about the slide of the American middle class into the food-stamp class may not be what American workers really need to hear. Americans have to gain an understanding of the origins of this huge financial meltdown in America. Certainly the movement of manufacturing jobs offshore is a major earthquake-level event that has not been sufficiently answered by government or industry. Up to a point industry has to be competitive. If it doesn’t lower manufacturing costs by shifting production overseas then competition will. At that point in time there should have been a major shift to retrain American workers towards higher technology jobs. Millions of jobs go wanting in America for the lack of skilled laborers. The McGraw-Hill Research Foundation predicts a shortfall of more than 35 million skilled and educated workers over the next 30 years

US manufacturing largely relies upon the assumption consumers have money to buy their goods. The consumer economy represents the greatest share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If workers have lower or no incomes the consumer economy will flatten and there fewer goods will be sold. American business can lower its costs by shifting manufacturing offshore, but at the risk of killing consumer demand. Long term, America has shot itself in the foot.