A legacy to our job problems: How the Girl Scouts nearly sunk the U.S. economy

[1776Forever]

How the Girl Scouts nearly sunk the U.S. economy
Thursday, 11 November 2010 09:18
BY ROY NERSESIAN

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/commentary/how-the-girl-scouts-nearly-sunk-the-us-economy

About a month ago, the Girl Scouts hit the public media with their decision to switch manufacturers of Girl Scout uniforms from an American producer to one located in a wage-slave nation called China. Their rationale was that the price of uniforms would be lower if made by $2/day Chinese serfs. The consequence was that an American factory with ninety workers would close. The resulting nation-wide uproar over this caused the Girl Scout Council of America to rethink its decision.

This is why the economy will never get back on its feet. The jobs that have been lost will never come back and, as the Girl Scouts amply demonstrated, the hemorrhaging of jobs proceeds at a relentless pace. American executives have bought into the Walmart paradigm of shipping manufacturing jobs overseas lock, stock and barrel. Look how much money one can make. Suppose you're an owner of a firm making widgets. You pay your workers $20 per hour plus or including benefits. You shift production to Chinese serfs at a cost of $2/day, close down your factory and fire all your workers. You market the products in the U.S. or cut a deal with Walmart and pocket the difference for yourself. You now have joined the ranks of the 2% of Americans that are making most of the money and owning most of the wealth of the nation while your workers shift about trying to find minimum wage jobs as security guards. The Walmart paradigm is reducing this nation to that of El Salvador where a handful of families own everything and the rest of the people scrub for a living.

As I've reported in other articles, American executives have a gut-reaction for making everything in China, even fluorescent light bulbs that are required to be used here and which contain a virtual zero labor content. We can't even make a product that requires only machines. The irony is that these bulbs are not cheap, so the argument of Chinese production holding down price holds no water. Someone is making an awful lot of money on fluorescent bulbs and it's not American workers.

Lucky for us, foreign executives view America as an attractive place to build automobile factories employing hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers. What is it that foreigner executives don't see in employing Americans that American executives do see in not employing Americans?

Personal wealth!

According to Forbes, the richest persons in the world are Bill Gates at $40 billion and Warren Buffet at $37 billion. But you knew that. Do you know the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th richest individuals? No? Why they're Jim, Alice, Christy and S. Robson Walton, each worth $17.6 billion. Well that's old Sam's legacy — total it up — that's $70 billion, nearly equal to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined. So a founder of a company founded on making nothing created the largest fortune of them all. Are you slowly getting the picture on why there's not going to be any economic recovery based on job creation?

Off-shoring of American jobs has been going on for decades including the presidencies of Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II. The consequences were hidden by the real estate and the credit card bubbles that allowed people to borrow to make up for lost income from fewer jobs to sustain a standard of living that they could no longer support. When they maxed out on mortgages for overpriced real estate and could not find any greedy bankers to extend them more credit, the bubble burst and the full bill for past financial sins was presented to them for immediate payment. Off-shoring still continues a là Girl Scouts. So how is the vaunted economic recovery going to take place?

..................

As a footnote to this take a look at this article from Columbus Ohio Dispatch:

SURGE IN HOMELESSNESS
Shelters are full, and it isn't winter yet
Sunday, November 7, 2010 03:02 AM
By Rita Price

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/07/shelters-are-full-and-it-isnt-winter-yet.html?sid=101

All 514 beds were spoken for, and the overnight weather forecast - 39 degrees and rainy - wasn't severe enough to trigger emergency measures.

So staff at the Faith Mission had to turn away 41 men and women who asked for shelter Wednesday night.

(more at link)

..................

And so it goes in 2010 - What will 2011 bring? I ask you, all of you in Congress and the Administration...I ask you. Does anyone get it?

:hide:

NOTE:

The Girl Scouts changed their minds after the uproar: Girl Scouts to take bids only from suppliers in the U.S.

Updated: Monday, November 01, 2010, 9:47 PM
The Associated Press

PASSAIC COUNTY — The Girl Scouts of the USA says its uniforms will continue to be made in America following a public uproar over reports the organization was considering bids from overseas manufacturers.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/girl_scouts_to_take_only_bids.html

...............

Good choice!

[villager]

1. Will any of them "get it" before we hit the pitchfork stage?

n/t

[ejpoeta]

2. now i am glad i didn't let emily or ashley do girl scouts this year.

[1776Forever]

3. They changed their minds after the uproar: Girl Scouts to take bids only from suppliers in the U.S.

Updated: Monday, November 01, 2010, 9:47 PM
The Associated Press

PASSAIC COUNTY — The Girl Scouts of the USA says its uniforms will continue to be made in America following a public uproar over reports the organization was considering bids from overseas manufacturers.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/girl_scouts_to_take_only_bids.html

...............

Good choice!

[ejpoeta]

5. i wasn't thrilled with the idea of my kids in girl scouts to begin with.

seems like it's just a scam to get you to sell crap. sell cookies. sell nuts and candy. and how much do the girl scouts actually get from all those sales? at least when emily has to sell stuff so she can go see a play i know where that money is going. i would have rather just given the girl scouts the 50c a pop they would have gotten out of the cookies and saved us all the hassle.

[blondeatlast]

8. Girl Scouts were a blast for me. Camping, community service, sports--

I loved it.

[ejpoeta]

9. i was in girl scouts too for awhile. emily my oldest was in it until last year.

the leader that had been doing it retired (didn't blame her her kids were all grown up). well i wasn't thrilled with the new leaders. not them per se but when beth was there my daughter was included at least. i know she is hard to deal with since she is such a talker, but last year i would pick her up and she'd be in tears. the kids all ignored her. she has no friends at school. but she still wanted to go!! i tried getting her into 4h which i thought would be a better fit. but no one would call me back. don't see them at a table set up to take new members at the school. saddens me really. i wish i could help her. it's tough being a kid with no friends.

[blondeatlast]

10. That's such a shame, I'm so sorry for your daughter--that shouldn't happen.

It's all about the leaders. Good ones are gold, bad ones ruin the experience for years. My mom was a leader to my sisters before I was born and she used to meet with leaders before I joined and she picked which troop me and my best friend joined.

[TlalocW]

4. I always buy a box of the Samoas or whatever they're called

And then give them an extra two bucks, telling them, "Give this to your scout leader. This is 4 times more than what you make from a box of cookies." I enjoy confusing children while gnoshing on sugared wheels.

TlalocW

[pnorman]

6. K & R!

For later study in detail.

[Drale]

7. They also changed their cookies

they are no longer as good as they where and there is allot less of them in a box.

[Poboy]

11. Thanks for posting. k&r