Obama: More Economic Work to Be Done
As for the United States, Mr. Obama said, “We share the view that the economy is strengthening, that we are into recovery, that it’s actually led by some interesting sectors like manufacturing.”
“But,” he added, “what we also agreed is that we’ve still got a lot of work to do. There is a great concern about the 8 million jobs that were lost during the course of these last two years, and that we’ve got to continually push the pace of economic growth in order to put people back to work.”
I think I found 10% of those jobs.
Foxconn
The company opened its first manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, China in 1988, which is now the company's largest plant, with 420,000 employees working in shifts and living inside the compound. Currently Foxconn employs 800,000 people in mainland China including those working at the massive Shenzhen complex.
It is the kind of work Americans are told we don't want to do though. Heck, even the Chinese aren't all that crazy about it apparently.
Between January and May 2010, twelve Foxconn employees attempted suicide, with ten deaths. Some reporters criticized the company's long working hours, low pay and harsh management methods, such as physical abuse towards mainland employees from Taiwanese managers. Workers have complained about monotonous work schedules and inhumane working relationships (such as one employee, who had worked for half a year and yet did not know the names of his dormitory mates). Compared to China's overall suicide rate, the suicide rate at Foxconn is not statistically aberrant, but the rapid succession of suicides is unusual.
Fortunately, robots will never complain.
At the moment, Elektro-Praga -- which specializes in low-voltage circuit breakers, switches, control products, wiring accessories and cable systems -- only employs the ABB robot system to turn out its "Tango" line of dual plug sockets. But in the near future, it plans to use it for several other variants. In fact, as it takes no more than 10 minutes to set up the line for another variant this will make it possible to change the variant up to 30 times per week - which results in real flexible 'production to order'.
And everyone made fun of me when I said the next bubble will be in robots!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there is a bubble in robots. The bubble is in workers competing with robots and it is popping! ;)
ReplyDeleteIf not for gallows humor, what would be left?
There's only two left who even have a chance!
World Fastest Secretary
World's Fastest Talking Female
"...twelve Foxconn employees attempted suicide, with ten deaths. Some reporters criticized the company's long working hours, low pay and harsh management methods..."
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone thought to ask the two persons who failed their suicide attempts what exactly was bothering them?
G.H.,
ReplyDeleteRumor has it that they had their long-term hourly wages indexed directly to the stock price of Fannie Mae.
It seemed like a good idea when Fannie Mae was trading at $60 per share, but they later came to realize that they'd been hoodwinked!
They now only earn 35 cents per hour right in line with Fannie Mae's current stock price.
Rumor has it of course. This could be just random gallows humor from an anonymous Internet blogger whose name rhymes with Cragflationary Snark though. There's just no way to know for sure! ;)
OK Stag, I'm not always the brightest bulb on the tree so bear with me here, I'm thinking the hidden punch line here is this:
ReplyDelete"They now only earn 35 cents per hour right in line with China's current average wage."
?
Here is Fake Steve Jobs take on the statistics that claim such a number of suicides is "normal".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fakesteve.net/2010/05/our-new-spin-on-the-foxconn-suicide-epidemic.html
G.H.,
ReplyDeleteThe 35 cents is actually a bit light for the average Chinese factory workers these days. Of course, that just makes the hidden punch line all that more amusing I suppose.
Stephen Clarke-Willson, Ph.D.,
ReplyDeleteGreat points in your link!
Also, consider this. Walmart has 1.4 million employees in the United States. Can you remember a time when 10 or 15 Walmart workers jumped to their deaths from the roofs of Walmart stores over the course of a few months? Have you ever heard of Walmart asking employees to sign a no-suicide contract, or putting safety nets up on all of its buildings? If this did happen, would you think maybe something is going on at Walmart? Or would you just say, well, 10 or 15 people out of 1.4 million is still waaaay below the national average?
This is a little off topic but none the less;
ReplyDeleteMark I'm somewhat of a car enthusiast and last week I went by the Ford dealership to check out the new 5.0 Mustang GT.
Imagine my dismay when I noticed that Ford's new 6 speed manual transmission for the GT is now made in China!
Sacrilege I tell ya, everyone knows those transmissions are supposed to be made in Mexico : )
watchtower,
ReplyDeleteAll is not lost!
"Made in Mexico"
A skilled, conscientious Mexican work force and continuing upgrades in infrastructure have greatly enhanced the efficiency and value of products made in Mexico and manufacturing south of the border.
Fewer suicides!
Twenty five percent of imported U.S. automotive parts come from Mexico.
More car!
Wake up Mark! Just cus I took the day off did not mean you could, HAHA!
ReplyDeleteGYSC,
ReplyDeleteI better be awake tomorrow! I'll be driving about 300 miles to spend the weekend with my relatives.
That means I won't be posting again until Tuesday or Wednesday more than likely.
You can pretty much assume the worst if I'm never heard from again, lol.
Happy 4th to all!
ReplyDeleteI'm just catching up on some news and, as usual, there is clear direction ahead. It's clear that the bond rally is over:
Bond rally reflects gloom - but don't bet on it lasting
"Staying in safe haven assets right now might feel like the best thing to do, but that's wrong," said Jim Caron, head of global interest-rate strategy at Morgan Stanley. "The second half of the year is going to surprise most people as we get the growth that will lead to higher yields."
Well, clearly we have growth for the 2nd half. Or do we:
Roubini Says German, U.S. Debt to Be Havens in Face of Economic Fragility
"Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist credited with predicting the financial crisis, said that government bonds of countries such as Germany, Canada and the U.S. will represent a haven from increasingly volatile markets in coming months."
But what about that growth?
"The global economy will slow in the second half as deficit- reduction measures, notably in Europe, sap demand, Roubini said. U.S. growth will ease to about 1.5 percent by the end of 2010, about half its potential..."
I'm left trying to figure out how 'growth' equates to 'haven'. Here's one possibility:
December 05, 2007
Global Consumer Staples ETF Provides a Safe Haven of Growth
"KXI provides investors with a vehicle to play the rising middle-income classes of emerging countries. While the US economy may slump, the global growth story remains intact (unless, of course, you don’t buy the decoupling scenario)."
Ah, that pesky decoupling scenario. And did KXI save the day for investors seeking a "safe haven of growth"?
KXI
12/05/07 - $64.03
07/02/10 - $53.30
Well, guess not.
I'm sticking with Roubini on this one. And for anyone who would like a peek at how bond ETFs are stacking up against the universe of ETFs at this point, take a look at this spreadsheet. They're at the top of the stack.
But here's the best comment of all, from the Roubini link:
"The short-term and long-term debt of countries not yet subject to sovereign debt concern will be havens,..."
Not yet subject to...
G.H. (& all),
ReplyDeleteAh, that pesky decoupling scenario.
Not yet subject to...
It must be time for some more bear jokes!
Bear Jokes