World Trade agreements are the Great Equalizer when it comes to Worker Wages -- Increase them a little over there, Decrease and Flatten them over here. NAFTA showed us that in spades here in America. Where we are still living with its Wage-dampening after-effects 20 years later.
What ever happen to the "The rising tide lifts all boats*" that Reagan promised?
I don't recall the footnote qualifier: "*Only applies to the Tides of our Trading Partners. And those Corporations swift enough to leverage their 'resources' the most efficiently."
In the real world, where Workers once had some semblance of a Standard of Living -- that rising tide (elsewhere) can leave many workers "High and Dry" out in the endless mudflats of "What Happened!?"
Income Inequality in America
Causes of Income Inequality
Kimberly Amadeo, US Economy Expert; useconomy.about.com -- Feb 14, 2014.
One-quarter of American workers make less than $10 per hour, which creates an income below the Federal poverty level. These are the people who wait on you every day: cashiers, fast food workers and nurse's aides. Or maybe they are you.
[...]
Who or What Is to Blame?
Corporations are often blamed for putting profits ahead of workers. U.S. companies must compete with lower-priced Chinese and Indian companies who pay their workers much less. As a result, many companies have outsourced their high-tech and manufacturing jobs overseas. The U.S. has lost 20% of its factory jobs since 2000. These were traditionally higher-paying union jobs. Service jobs have increased, but these are much lower paid.
During the 1990s, companies went public to gain more funds to invest in growth. Managers must now produce ever-larger profits to satisfy stockholders. Since payroll is usually the largest budget line item, re-engineering has led to doing more with fewer full-time employees and hiring more contract and temporary employees. Immigration also allows those with less power to fill low-paid service positions.
[...]
[reuters.com -- Trying to raise a family on a fast-food salary ]
The outsourcers of Labor are no respecters of race, they are "equal opportunity" exploiters -- long as they can make a Buck (or a thousand). The general health and well-being of Society, well that's somebody else's problem -- not theirs ...
Income Inequality and Outsourcing of Manufacturing Leads to Growing Poverty for White Americans
by Noel Brinkerhoff, allgov.com -- July 30, 2013
[...]
Whites increasingly make up what experts call the “invisible poor” residing in suburbs or small towns, especially in Appalachia, the industrial Midwest and in the Great Plains.
More than 19 million whites fall below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four, comprising more than 41% of the nation’s poor, which is nearly double the number of poor blacks.
[...]
Overall, four out of five U.S. adults will struggle with joblessness, near poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives -- products of growing income inequality and the outsourcing of American jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, since the 1970s.
[...]
You see the "
Opportunity part" of those Trade Agreement equations,
is the Opportunity for the Wealthy to become even Wealthier -- at the expense of those they cast aside (or freeze the wages of) -- and at the desperation of those in foreign lands, simply happy for the chance to get "starvation wages" ...
You see the "Opportunity" they promise is the opportunity to simply 'grind out' another working day ... if you're among the lucky and (Resume) chosen few.
World Trade agreements are the Great Equalizer when it comes to Wealth-creation Opportunities. Tap some under-utilized Population over there, Cast aside and ignore them over here. NAFTA showed us that "the Land of Opportunity" is no longer 'synonymous with America'.
Opportunity is were you Make it ... and where you Take it -- the Flat-world movers and shakers always say.
And the 21st-century version of NAFTA is about open up several under-utilized Populations, to the joys of the Free Market place. The Business-owner joys that is ...
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Countries: Comparative Trade and Economic Analysis
Brock R. Williams, Analyst in International Trade and Finance
June 10, 2013
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Congressional Research Service: 7-5700 -- www.crs.gov
larger
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) under negotiation between the United States and 11 other countries. Current participants include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.
Here's another way to "map" those "
TPP Opportunities." In terms of
a few more "Economic Imbalances" just waiting to be "Equalized."
Say Hello! to your New Competition, America ... can you compete with 10 bucks a day? Or even less?
List of countries by average wage
wikipedia.org
[...]
The average wage, calculated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency dealing with labour issues, particularly international labour standards and decent work for all, 185 of the 193 UN member states are members of the ILO. It's a rough figure based on data from 72 countries, omitting some of the world's poorest nations. All figures are adjusted to reflect variations in the cost of living from one country to another. According to ILO the World average wage in Purchasing Power Parity dollars is $1,480
Rank Country Monthly average wage in PPP dollars, 2009[4]
1 Luxembourg $4,089
2 Norway $3,678
3 Austria $3,437
4 United States $3,263
12 Canada $2,724
14 Singapore $2,616
15 Australia $2,610
17 Japan $2,522
22 New Zealand $2,283
43 Chile $1,021
45 Malaysia $ 961
58 Mexico $ 609
71 Peru $ 268
Average Monthly Salary
in Brunei: 3,999 BND
which works out to 2996.85 US Dollar, which would put them 9th in that above list.
When the grand work of the Great Equalizers is done, do you think they will ever stop and inspect, the societal wreckage, they've left in their 'leveling' wakes?
Not likely. Their first-hand view of that, is so far and hazy and down-right remote from their privileged perch on "Pinnacle Hill" ...
The argument is often made that these job-outsourcing countries have lower wages, because their Standards of Living (SOL) are less.
Exactly.
When High Wage countries (HSOL countries) have to compete with Low Wage countries, with their Lower Standard of Living (LSOL)-- who and what do you think ends up the Losers in those "world trading" equations?
And who stands to rake in the Lion's share (99%) of the newly created profit margins?
The Corporations and Share-owners who systematic fast-track "the putting profits ahead of workers" ... that's who.
The fortunate workers (of the day) will get just enough survive, so that they can make it back for yet another dreary day, in mudflats-ville. Where Opportunity abounds for the lucky, unhungry few ...
[ commons.wikimedia.org -- Mudflats ]
Just a hop, skip and jump down the road a piece, from that 'fabled' Pleasant-ville, USA.