the American economy has still lost something like 30 million jobs to outsourcing of labor since the early '80s.
This is my final post in this thread...as it is now become politics (and I'm partially to blame
The statistics you're quoting do not tell the full story...or anything close to it.
30mil jobs gone? so you're saying that we're at 10%+ inflation? No. That is exactly the sort of thing that can be mistakenly drawn from misinterpreting statistics. Last year the unemployment rate was under 5%...approx 7mil people unemployed...and some of them are people changing jobs etc...
I'm certain that 30mil jobs have gone...but more than 30mil new jobs have been created...the unemployment rate is lower now than it was throughout most of the 80's!
When you are talking about the people at the top & bottom...don't forget to take into account social programs with redistribute the wealth. My neighbor abuses it like crazy as we pay for his housing...and he drives a Cadillac Escalade...that's sad...because he's in the cycle of poverty...he makes very poor decisions.
Now...the top of society has gotten richer...the middle has gotten slightly better...an increase of between $5k and $10k per household adjusted to 2003 dollars...and the bottom has gone up by about a $1-2k. Btw, my neighbor is in that bottom...and the people at the bottom get a boast upwards once you include social programs.
I agree that globalization is quite complex, but it is impacted by the unions. Unions are synonymous with manufacturing...the very area we are discussing in why model trains are coming from China instead of Philly or something...and one of the aspects has been how the unions dealt with the companies. The fall of GM certainly started with poor management decisions...but when the going got tough...it became almost a joke to see the picket lines in Dayton on strike! I think it is sad because I feel that far more union GM workers would be employed today if they'd been able to function better together.
As far as NAFTA and such...I recall the words of my favorite econ professor...NAFTA is basically a treaty which is good for us and bad for them...tariffs exist to protect an economy as it develops...and by getting Mexico to remove its tariffs...it helps us and hurts them. Now I can see both sides of that...and just because he has a PhD in the subject doesn't mean that he's correct...I've read a number of technical journal articles in which one group of scientists calls the others idiots...and then the go back and forth. But, my point here is that NAFTA...something pushed by Republicans & Democrats...isn't necessarily bad for everyone in the US...although I do agree that it can be painful to some.
If you look up the numbers...you'll find that the average American is wealthier than the average european, south korean, or japanese person. This does vary some with currency exchange rates...as the US is at $48,000 right now...with the UK $8000 behind. The last time I checked...the UK was slightly ahead of Germany, France, and Italy. The Swiss were...and are...ahead of us.
Now why is Europe lower?
"hen I would think that outsourcing should have affected other western economies much more than ours, since workers in most other developed western nations have higher union memberships, stronger unions and more gov't protections than American workers."
Because they are socialists. France requires that every public bathroom be staffed by an attendant to provide income. I've been there and seen it. They have horrible problems with getting companies to open up new factories because the labor unions have so much sway on their gov't. Socialism isn't about growing the pie...it is about attempting to even it up...and the long term side effects are that politicians (typically lawyers) end up running the economy and they have a shortage of jobs.
I personally feel that a little socialism is a good thing...although I personally don't care for the Feds to run it...I prefer for the States/local gov'ts to do that. What socialism I have...I want it to be safety nets...I want a capitalist culture. I have a German friend whom finds our "minimum wage" to be such a joke. She proudly points out that they don't have one in Germany and that they don't need it, as the market wage is higher than our minimum wage. She is right (to a degree), as the market wage is higher here as well...but that is something else.
Things are going well in America for most Americans. Unfortunately, they aren't going great for everyone, such as my neighbor, but they are going better than many people realize. People like to remember the best times from the past, while forgetting the bad times...and then do the exact opposite with the present. We glorify the past...even though it wasn't as great as we think. The 1950's is certainly one of those time periods...yet many African-Americans experienced awful things then. If I'd been born then, I would have died due to a couple medical problems I had as a little kid...so things are getting better.
As for the medical costs...if I don't know what it costs...I'm probably going to cost myself more than I'm willing to pay. This happens with insurance and it happens with the gov't running the show. In part, medical costs are higher now than ever before...because there are more medications available and more people living longer than ever before. We don't die of waterborne diseases in the US...we actually wear our bodies out! (heart disease is wearing out your cardiovascular system, cancer is wearing out your DNA) The result is more being spent on medicine (and research to provide fountains of youth such as a cure for cancer). I'm fine with that. But I suspect that the more directly I see the costs of visiting a doctor...the more likely I am to only go when I need to do so. I'm really scared at the idea of "free" health care as that just means more taxes...and I don't want George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader, or some other politician to be in charge of my health care.
I'm now going to bow out of this thread and not post again. I couldn't resist the statistics as I am a research scientist/engineer...I love analyzing data/statistics.
I'm done in here because this isn't related as to why I'm on this forum. I'm here because I love trains.
Next time there is a thread like this...I'm going to stay with Gary S. on the sideline. You are wise my friend.