Treasury secretary defends outsourcing

[DuctapeFatwa]

Treasury Secretary John Snow on Tuesday defended U.S. corporations' right to send U.S. jobs offshore to cheaper-labor countries, and said a more productive source for jobs might be found by breaking down global trade barriers.

"I think American companies need to do what they need to do to be competitive, and as they're competitive, it's good for their shareholders, it's good for their consumers and it's good for their employees," Snow said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4365553/

[lovedems]

1. So exploitation of labor forces is good for Americans.

The only entity that benefits from this are the companies and the shareholders, not the consumers are stuck with goods that are not quality goods, and not the employees who will be lifted from their poverty status.

These guys get more ballsy by the day! That is not the message the unemployed will want to hear.

[sallyseven]

3. Lets see if they

are willing to get the young men and women out of Iraq and let the corporations fight their own battles. They gain the most and the young people lose their lives. Maybe they can start their own army. If a hostile takeover in another country exist they can duke it out without our military.

[DiverDave]

2. When sales go

through the basement, they will scream for a govt bailout.

Mark my words, they will try and have all the folks laid off pay for their profits.

[Gothic Sponge]

21. A govt bailout

means we pay to bail them out. BTW i was debating this issue with a repug. The repug was adamant about not paying taxes to help people on welfare. I asked what about corporate welfare bailouts? The repug didn't seem to have a problem with that. I'll never understand these people!

[NYC]

4. Did he read the article about the army's collapsing cots made in China?

"...it's good for their consumers..."

In this case, the consumers are the U.S. Army.

Collapsing Cots Cause Concern in Kuwait

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=20637

...estimated more than 500 have been turned in for replacements in the past week. That doesn’t count many more collapsed cots that soldiers still are using, propped up with boxes or their own rucksacks...

...come from a private contractor in Kuwait. The brightly colored blue and green cots fold up simply and come in easy-to-carry bags. They are made in China...

More at link.

[dflprincess]

5. If they keep outsourcing jobs

there won't be any consumers.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. The American consumer is no longer an important factor for U.S. corp.

The U.S. consumer base is drying up. Corporations are just making a bad situation worse because they're drying up the U.S. consumer market in pursuit of greener pastures. In simple term, WE ARE NOT THE NEXT BIG CONSUMER MARKET.

For example, take the computer industry. This country is already tapped out on consumers who need PCs so the next thing to do is put money into a developing country and create a new consumer base. You can see how insignificant the U.S. citizen is becoming as consumers in their big picture. The signs are everywhere. Whether you need parts for your six month old car or warm-ups for your kid's baseball team, everything is on backorder. You can't get anything in a timely manner anymore. It's unbelieveable the number of things that have to be shipped in from Asia.

[ramapo]

8. Aging America needs less stuff

Plus as the boomers age we buy much less.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. But somehow we've got to come together to create a backlash

against U.S. corporations who are selling us out. The only thing that will get their attention is a boycott on stocks. We can't have a consumer impact any other way, because stocks are the only thing that corporations are looking at right now. They're like addicted gamblers. Let's make them go cold turkey.

[nolabels]

19. They use the US for their weapon

Without the US for a backdrop most them multi-nationals would dry up and blow away. One day we might find ourselves going cold turkey to extridite what is left of our pimped out nation.

[baby_bear]

13. The middle class is no longer necessary or desirable to them

We are like so much gum they wish to scrape off their shoes.

Their future workers and consumers are in emerging countries. The stockholders and fat cat CEOs remain here, however, where they need a large lower class of service employees.

s_m

[saigon68]

7. Treasury Secretary John Snow likes slavery

Ten year old children sewing shirts.

Prisoners making toilet brushes.

Starving families scraping animal hides and eating the little left over fat.

Old people with open sores planting food in the paddies.

Corporate exec's at $25,000.00 per plate CHIMPANZEE McSHRUB dinners.


Sounds like fun to me </sarcasm>

[Don_G]

9. Does He Want Iraq To Print Our Money Again?

Pesky Federal Union Workers; the SS has to watch them every second.

[zbdent]

11. The last time the country was in this bad of shape

You could at least farm your land. This was back before the influx of the cheap labor trying to escape the war brewing in Europe.

[Crachet2004]

12. John Snow has got to go!

Are these people out of their goddamn minds? This is an election year! You would think they would at least have the common decency to, well, lie!

Power does that. They think they can say and do anything they want to. What a moron.

You know, on second thought, the people on Bush's economic team may be stabbing him in the back, with all their stupid statements in recent days. Maybe they are balanced budget type GOP'ers and this is their way of getting some back off Bush?

Nah. They are just powermad idiots.

[0007]

14. Dumb son of a bitch!

[rman]

15. but it's not good for many Americans

since those are no longer the employees, and since the homeless don't really count as consumers (they got no money).

So again "'lies' is not quite the right word, because they are careful to phrase things so that they are literally true, just misleading. The scams are transparent, they are almost childish, it is hard to believe that anyone would dare to do such a thing." - Krugman

But increasingly people do have a little trouble believing them.

Outsourcing is good only for the shareholders, and the CEO's. And then they got the nerve to say it's good for the economy. Since when is it that the economy excludes a major part of the population?

[5thGenDemocrat]

16. Shoot, you would've thought he'd have quit after the first time he said it

Keep digging that hole deeper, Snowball.
John
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by simple stupidity.

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

17. The Constitution isn't about defending corporations

It's to defend people's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. We need a decent standard of living.

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. Maybe it's time to remove "corporations" from our constitutional

definition of "individual." If we allowed a real human being the kind of freedom & flexibility that we allow corporations, we wouldn't have any trouble recognizing their outsourcing and tax shelter behavior as a direct threat to every American in this country.

[Q]

18. First they destroyed the unions...

...and now they're going after the workers. They're creating a society where American workers will accept any kind of job for any kind of pay. And with the concurrent destruction of social programs...workers will work for shit pay or starve.

[Skittles]

22. these people don't get it, do they ???

they really don't f***ing get it

[tom_paine]

23. They don't even try to hide it anymore

That's what's most distressing. They can't WAIT until the Amerikan Worker is reduced to the level of the Chinese Worker.

And I also think the Imperial Stooges get off on their Orwellian lies. It pleases them to think they can make these "up is down" statements and get away with it.

Snow should have said, "Let the eat cake."

It would be more honest. But honesty is most definitely NOT what the Imperial Family and their Stooges are about.

[gulfcoastliberal]

24. On NPR This AM, JK's Campaign Person

Said he won't promise to try to stop job losses and corporate outsourcing (that's how I heard it) but rather will make sure trade policies are "enforced". Does this mean Kerry will continue this totally morale-sapping policy?

[74dodgedart]

25. Maybe we should strive to be competitive as a country as opposed to

being competitive as individual corporate units. Many countries, (Japan, for example) take this approach.

[nolabels]

28. Corporations are at the eclipse of this"competitive as a country"

They are at a point where they have become larger than the host that spawned them. And at the very least immune from any correction any one could bring singularly. The moth has shed it's cocoon and is looking for other grounds to be fertile at.

http://www.newint.org/issue167/kidding.htm
EXPORTING ILLUSION: The new imperialism - NI 167 - No Kidding:
(snip)
Plain traders

Where Lenin argued that the desire to export capital was imperialism’s driving force, other commentators have pointed to the need to export goods and import raw materials.

French politician Jules Ferry said ‘The foundation of a colony is the creation of a market’, when he tried to justify his policy of encouraging colonial expansion in the late nineteenth century. The trade depression of that period may have encouraged major trading companies to look for new markets.

The import of raw materials played an important part in encouraging colonization: for example, the Hudson’s Bay Company, which exploited the furs and other natural resources of Canada, encouraged settlers to move westwards. British merchants were also heavily involved in colonising parts of Africa where they developed cash crops like coffee, sisal and cocoa And raw cotton from India was one of the key materials in British industrial development.



Magnetic colonies

Many modern historians, notably David Fieldhouse, have argued that explanations of imperialism have concentrated too much on the colonizing countries, and not taken enough notice of events in the colonies themselves. He refers to ‘The magnetic force of the periphery’ - in other words, the colonies. The arrival of Europeans, whether as traders, farmers or officials, had a disruptive effect on Asian and African societies. In some places there were revolts from the native population. The Europeans felt threatened and their home governments intervened to protect them and their property. This happened in 1882 in Egypt when there was a popular uprising. The UK government was concerned that the Suez Canal, a vital route to India, would fall into unfriendly hands. Within three years the British government was drawn further in, sending the disastrous Gordon expedition to Khartoum in attempt to put down a revolt that threatened Egypt. Britain didn’t intend to take over Egypt, but it became an effective colony for 40 years In other societies rulers made tactical alliances with the European against internal enemies - almost invariably leading to European control. It was always possible for the Europeans to claim that they were restoring order. Having got involved the European nation would be drawn into internal affairs and disputes until a complete takeover was the solution that best served its interests. It could be argued that Soviet policy in Afghanistan and the American involvement in Vietnam are modern reflections of the force of the periphery.

Sideshow wars

Small nations have often found themselves becoming instruments of the foreign policy of larger ones Today, it is claimed, they find themselves acting as surrogates’ - substitutes for a larger nation in a conflict, and coming to a great extent under the control of their giant ally. Direct confrontation between the superpowers would be massively destructive, but they carry on indirect struggles in areas of tension such as the Middle East through those they support.
(snip)

[Bandit]

26. "and it's good for their employees,"

Ya sure ~ I'll buy every thing you are selling. :crazy: Which employees is he referring to, the ones in India? I'm quite sure it is good for them while Americans suck hind tit.

[74dodgedart]

27. CEO's are employees. I guess its good for them

I hope they don't mind living in the wasteland of poverty that will be the future of the US

[benfranklin1776]

29. John and Alan the dynamic duo!

"Outsourcing is Good!" snarls Snow. "Cutting benefits to the poor and the disabled, not eliminating tax cuts" is where we want to go barks Alan. Junior's rabid lapdogs are in full slobber mode to be sure.

[Manix]

30. ..."let them eat cake"

..the evidence mounts daily on this corrupt crowd..
keep it up idiots.