Local Jobs for Local Workers

Once a week for the past several months there are these guys protesting across the street from my office with signs that read "Local Jobs for Local Workers." As I pass them on my way home I sort of wondered what they were protesting, thinking it was probably related to jobs going to other countries. Last week they were handing out flyers describing their plight. Apparently, they are upset because an electric generating plant on the outskirts of our community is being built using cheaper labor from Southern States (e.g. Louisiana and Texas) rather than the more expensive local workers.

As I sorted through this the bottom line I came up with is...You want me/all of us to pay more money for electric so that you can have a short term construction opportunity. Part of me wants to stop and ask what I am getting for my extra money. How much more will I be asked to pay?
Isn't this opposite of a free market?

Part of their argument was that this company says that part of their mission is to invest money back into the local communities, which it does through its foundation and various charities. If it costs more to build and maintain facilities doesn't that mean less money to invest back?

How do you tell these workers that their job and the skills that provide have been made a commodity? If they cannot compete on price, then they need to find a value-add that makes them better, or a place in the process where they can add value. Easier said than done, especially for jobs like construction.

What steps as a society do we need to take to retrain these types of workers to give them the skills they need to find a place? This has serious implications for our children, and the generations on the rise.

Solving the education issues and providing these opportunities are the issues that are the National Crisis, not Social Security.

Catching up....

First things first, I must apologize for taking so long between posts, between vacation, building a house and the hot dog days of summer I have not had the opportunity to write.

During my brief hiatus I have been reading and thinking alot more about globalization. I have read Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat." Another new source is a recently started blog by Steve Weber, a professor at UC Berkley. Combine that with the CNOOC bid for Unocal and all the political rumblings that have followed, plus the cry for the revaluation of the Chinese yuan and Beijing's response. The result: Tylenol + 42.

"Globalization" seems like the newest buzz word, and something you hear Alan Greenspan talk about on Capitol Hill. But I for one can tell you globalization slaps me in the face day by day:

• The Mexicans who have framed, bricked and drywalled my house.
• My Inidan friends who came here as part of an outsourcing project and to whom I chat with over Yahoo Messenger whether they are around the street or back in Hyderabad.
• The low 5.875% rate I am getting on my mortgage, made low as a result of the trade deficit with China and the US Treasuries they are buying.
• The Vietnamese women who do my fiancee's nails.
• The smell of curry that wafts in the hallway of our apartment (until the house is done), and the numerous foreign born tech contractors that live in our apartment complex.

While it is easy to talk of "globalization" in the abstract and whether we should have this policy or that policy, it takes on a whole other dimension when it is staring back at you. From the people I have met that are tying to make a better life for their families, to the higher/lower cost I would pay for my house and my mortgage.

Our society has many things to deal with including what I am going to label the "Britney Spears" effect. All you need to do is watch"Cribs" on MTV, one episode of "American Idol", or see the people looking to make a quick buck somewhere to realize that our work ethic and mindset are warped. Today's column in the NY Times by Nicholas Kristof, among other things, shows how misguided our values are in relation to the world and entertainment. Kristof notes that while virtually no attention has been given to the genocide in the Sudan, and news organizations say how expensive it is, an anchor at ABC can fly to Africa just to interview Brad Pitt.

Why is it the jobs most kids aspire to do when they are young are the least valuable to society? I would propose that if you asked kids in the US vs kids in India/China what they want to do when they grow up, the US kids are going to be more favored to the "glamourous" entertainment jobs, vs the value added, society advancing science, math, and tech jobs the Indian and Chinese kids would choose.

Look no further than the US Congress this past week....What are our leaders worried about in Washington and crying for reform over????

Not Education......but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Drugs from Canada

You have to love the contradiction many in Congress have over the importation of drugs from Canada, my representative included. They favor letting US citizens buy the prescriptions in country where the government has set price controls while on the other hand not favoring price controls in our country. To me this seems utterly spineless!! You either support the idea of a government having the ability to set price controls or not.

If we are so in support of cheaper drugs that we support people going to other countriesThose in Congress do not dare cross big pharma and face losing campaign dollars, and they certainly don't want the US to have any type of socialist policy that would allow them to control the free market and business.

Instead, with a nod and a wink they want you to have the ability to get your drugs from a country that does control prices. So which is it??

Getting drugs from Canada is not a long term solution, because the pharma companies will start matching supply to the acutal needs of Candadian residents, eliminating any surplus available to US buyers. Which is why the Canadian gov't is looking to set up policy to ensure that Canadian residents are taken care of first.

We need real answers and real solutions to soaring drug costs.

The Medicare Pharmacy Benefit that comes online in January will do nothing but make the problem worse. Look at Forbes coverage of the MedicarePharmacy: Rx for Fraud (You need to sign up for a free id to read it online)

I will be on vacation the week of July 4th, I may be able to squeeze in a post or two, no promises! I am working on a piece regarding the 10 commandments Supreme Court decision, currently wading my way through thejudges opinions.

Thanks to Don H for the suggestion of calling this site "Sponge Rob Square Rants." But you are right, we better steer clear and avoid the lawsuit from Viacom.

Ranting on...

John Snow & Social Security

Quick email update...

John Snow was on Squawkbox on CNBC this morning. I was listening on the XM on the way to work. I am still feeling dizzy from all the spin he was throwing out. After tons of grilling by the Squawkbox team, all he could say was that Pres Bush was committed to SS reform, Private Accounts were the key to long term solvency and he supported the efforts of those in Congress with bills, but would not necessarilly support a particular bill or proposal. All he would say was that these were good, ideas, but when asked if the administratrion supported them, he would not go that far.

I was highly dissappointed that there was nothing more substantive!!

Ranting on...

Social Security

This whole social security debate has me a little befuddled. Social Security is an insurance policy, a social contract where you agree to contribute to the earnings, and in return you are guranteed enough money so that you are not living in a cardboard box eating out of trash cans when you become disabled or are in the waning years of your life.

One thing Social Security is not is a savings/investment plan. Those are called 401k or IRA plans. Or Heaven forbid, other personal savings!! With a net savings rate of 0% and people cashing out the equity in their homes to buy plasma TVs, I guess I shouldn't be so puzzled over people looking to the gov't to take care of them.

To me Social Security is like the insurance you have on your house or your car, you pay it dutifully, year to year, month to month in the event that God forbid you have to use it. No one in their right mind would expect that their homeowner's insurance would pay for finishing the basement, putting up that new fence, replace the air conditioner, buy a lawn mower or any number of other things that home owners face. Likewise you would not expect your car insurance to pay for an oil change, or to replace a timing belt or water pump.

So why do we expect Social Security to pay for the everyday things that we want, or to improve our lifestyle in retirement. Playing golf everyday, taking vacations/trips and eating out are not things that should be guaranteed in life.

Personally, I think it has to do with the "entitlement" mindset that I see running rampant around the country. I always hear people say, "I deserve this", "They owe me that!" To quote Colonel Potter...Horse Hockey! You go out and work hard and earn what for the things you need and want. At the end of the day you thank God for the opportunity to do it. This country was built on the concept of hard work, not entitlements. If you don't want to work, there are millions of people in other countries very willing to take your job. That is a rant for other day....


Private accounts only feed the "savings plan" mindset. If we could have private accounts on something, I would want it on auto insurance. Imagine if half your auto insurance premium went into a private account that earned interest, and if you did not use the money to pay for an accident, then you got it for the downpayment on the next car. I don't see it happening.

I am all for scaling benefits...If you have a couple million setting in the bank, that $12,000 from Social Security each year is not that important and you are definitely not in danger of pushing a shopping cart around town looking for handouts. To those with no savings, or high medical bills, that money is more than a lifeline.

Here are some links for more info on Social Security:

Good piece on dispelling some of the Social Security Myths at the Motley Fool

Social Security Network, contains articles, links, statistics and reports.

Until the next rant,