January 11, 2004
From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:Steve Verdon has changed his mind...
He fails to take into account that the U.S. market share of turntable manufacturing has actually grown.
Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at January 11, 2004 10:57 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksAs I commented at his site,
"What everyone seems to overlook or simply dismiss.
Once middle-class types,white or blue collar,find themselves fighting cheap immigrant labor for jobs at Wal-Mart,A Very Large political problem arises for the "so what?" crowd.
To wit,"Suck It Up,Loser's" might not be a winning campaign slogan."
He may be right in the long term,but laid off people don't give a damn for long term.
Free-Traders better come up with some very convincing arguments(not to mention attitude) pronto or we'll be getting lot's more tariffs if the Dems ever get it together.
<drool> And I'm still living with the old reliable Dual 721. Not a bad turntable, but it just doesn't cut it for geek appeal these days, unless you count still listening to LPs as geek appeal all by itself.
I often tell people that everything I was taught in economics in the 70's has been discarded. Further, I have re-discovered Ludwig Von Mises and have come to support the Austrian approach to free trade.
For that reason, I am comfortable with globalization on a conceptual basis. What makes me nervous are the pockets of despair within the American marketplace (inner cities, Appalachia, the Great Plains, for example).
How real is the danger of despair turning into anarchy? Am I worrying about nothing?
HK T-65, here. Needs a new cartridge, though; the old one sat out in a barn for about seven years. Sounds like it, too.
...What makes me nervous are the pockets of despair within the American marketplace (inner cities, Appalachia, the Great Plains, for example)...
I wouldn't get too nervous about the Great Plains. Ghost towns have been a staple of life out there for at least 80 years, and the land can always go fallow.
And last I checked, cities like Atlanta, Washington DC, and Charlotte are fast spreading their nasty urban sprawl in Applalachia's direction.
Besides, people there finally started figuring out that their local 1500-population-small-town can get along just fine without the new car dealership, the discount store, and even a full service grocery store. It's just easier to get in the car and go to the WalMart in the nearby bigger town.
What makes me nervous are the pockets of despair within the American marketplace (inner cities, Appalachia, the Great Plains, for example).
Gary, I've been thinking about your comment. To some extent, outsourcing has already helped some low-income areas of the country. (In this case, I mean "outsourcing within the US".) Gateway Computers, for example, must have had a significant impact on South Dakota's economy. As it has become easier to move back offices (and then front offices) out of major cities, many companies have done so to save money (and incidentally provide their employees with better lifestyles).
I think the "pockets of despair" that are left are those with too low a population (or too uneducated a population) to provide the workers needed. The cities in West Virginia seem to be doing quite well, judging by all the new cars I see; this may be more to do with Senator Byrd's plan to pave the state than the Internet.
Another area you don't mention is upstate NY, which has been depressed for a very long time. They've been losing small manufacturers since, oh, the 1920s, and I don't think much high-tech stuff has been attracted to Buffalo-type winters. But I gather from my cousin in Rochester that things are going well now (not booming, perhaps).
Can you think of a city that fits your "pocket of despair" category? Do you think there are a lot of people spread through the depressed areas?
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