Friday, October 21, 2005

Two Thoughts

1. So it's been 60 years since WWII ended and you have the two main Axis powers whose economies were in desperate need of reform. Japan is currently implementing and pursuing further reforms while Germany is sitting on its ass. I predict in as little as 5 years time there will be a drastic difference in the two's standards of living.

2. OK, so I figured out an ultimate poetic justice scenario. The unions and their "legacy costs" (read pensions for old, retired union members) have renders their employers uncompetitive against their foreign and immigrant labor competitors. So as a way to help employ all those laid off union members from Northwest Airlines, United, and soon to be Delphi, GM and Ford, I have the perfect job for them;

Bounty hunters.

But not any normal bounty hunters. Illegal immigrant bounty hunters.

We put a bounty of $1,000 for every illegal immigrant. The recently laid off union workers whose jobs were eliminated by cheap foreign labor (overseas or illegally domestic) can get training in bounty hunting and recoup their lost wages by hunting down those who are partially responsible.

It's a TV reality show in the making.

3 comments:

Captain Capitalism said...

Yeah, I was listening to Chertoff say he's going to get rid of "every single illegal" in the US.

Not without having the market work for you he's not.

Captain Capitalism said...

You're right Bucktown. But you see, and this is key to understand how I (as well as how I recommend) approaching economics;

What are you going to do about it?

You see, businesses and investors are going to set up shops where it's cheapest to do so. There's nothing with the US government can do about that, unless it decides to become dictatorial and ban people from investing there.

Secondly you're forgetting about a huge benefit in all this which is based on Ricardian trade theory, we're getting cheaper goods from China which increases our purchasing power. So drywallers may only make $12 an hour, but costs for many things have gone down because of foreign labor (here or overseas).

This further highlights the need for Americans to get good educations that are on the cutting edge of development and innovation, and which is why I rant so much against the stupid kids getting degrees in sociology and feelings and peace studies.

Read the post I did on foreign labor, I think it will bring in some insight to your thinkign.

Captain Capitalism said...

Well, the simplest way to put it is;

1. We're hosed.
2. Buy some Yuan
3. Invest in Estonia
4. Learn some Mandarin
5. Try to find a place to move before social security destroys us and throws the country into socialist revolution