Angry cries of America's 'outsourced' middle class

The Arizona Republic ^ | 03.09.04 | E.J. Montini

[Beck_isright]

Among those who apparently didn't listen to the 43-year-old unemployed woman whose recorded message was posted online last week by The Republic were Arizona's Jon Kyl and John McCain, along with 24 of their Senate colleagues, all of them collecting fat government paychecks.

[Jorge]

The 5.6 percent unemployment rate is the lowest in two years and below the average of the 1980s (7.3 percent) and '90s (5.8 percent), and still continues to drop.

Yes, and in the 1990's CNN described 5.6% unemployment as "low".
But now 5.6% unemployment is somehow a horrible disaster created by Bush.

I expect this from lying liberal hypocrites, but it's sad to see that so many here are parroting the left's mantra that all is doom and gloom under Bush.

[oceanview]

its not just a ploy of the left, I know people in bad situations too.

[petercooper]

many socialists and du'ers here

[Smogger]

like it or not, large companies employ alot of americans with good wages and benefits. those positions are the backbone of the US middle class. everyone can't own their own business in the service industry, what are we going to do, all serve each other dinner and fix each others cars?

I could care either way, but your going to be subject to getting the axe. Large corporations see everyone as a replacable liability. For every position they have 100 people doing a paticular job. When they need money they just cut 10 or 20 or 50 of those people. In the eyes of a large corporation with lots of layers of management the people furthest removed from the action make these decisions, and all employees are created equal.

Big companies cut people ALL THE TIME! You have ZERO job security at most big companies! Because of the benefits they provide their most senior employees are also the most costly, and the employees they are aching to be rid of first.

Bottom line: There is no loyalty at large companies. There is no person or even a small group of individuals to EVEN BE LOYAL TO. If your looking for job security big companies aint it.

[Poohbah]

I expect this from lying liberal hypocrites, but it's sad to see that so many here are parroting the left's mantra that all is doom and gloom under Bush.

We've got a lot of Moby fans here, don't we?

[Beck_isright]

"I expect this from lying liberal hypocrites, but it's sad to see that so many here are parroting the left's mantra that all is doom and gloom under Bush."

Hate to break this to you, but it's been us in the VRWC crowd that have been worrying about this trend in our economy. The left is just trying to steal the issue, but their hands are so bloody with the problems they've created with over regulation and over taxation that neither party can be taken seriously.

[freebacon]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1094309/posts

[Mike Darancette]

its not just a ploy of the left, I know people in bad situations too.

I heard one guy who said he was worried about jobs - he was 86 - LOL.

[oceanview]

take a look at the jobs creation number for the months in the 90s when these unemployment rates were reported. take a look at those same numbers now. the rate is low because people are dropping out of the statistics, and the unemployment rate doesn't count a person who is offshored from a 60K tech jobs and is working at Lowes now for half that.

[Homer1]

just to weigh in
I don't think outsourcing is a cause for large job loss YET.

I think there are a lot of factors - the recession, the econmic hit from the WTC hits, fallout in the airlines and tourism, the corporate scandals - WCOM, Global Crossing, Enron, the stock market bust - hurting the financial sector, the .COM collapse, - all of thses things put americans out of work. With the falsified profits and startups not making money, the US was OVER-EMPLOYED for several years. Despite this, the econmy is rebounding and we are absorbing all of those job losses and over-employment

That said, the outsoucing trend has just begun, and the US has a HUGE social welfare system to support. When the boomers satrt to retire and there's two workers for every old ass-sitter, we will really see the pinch. Higher taxes and higher socialism will only drive more jobs overseas. Kerry's speech today about not changing social security and expanding Medicare is a recipe for ecnomic disaster, and it's clear, also from today, that W doesn't really have an answer either.

[NorthWoody]

1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.-King James Version

[oceanview]

the left wants this to occur. the private sector middle class is a burden to the left: they vote republican, and they are not looking for government handouts.

when that changes, these voters become Democrats. The Dems win on both sides of this issue: they can use it to trash Bush, and they get the votes of the people being affected like the ones in this article. Its a win-win for them, and a lose-lose for the Republicans.

[Keen-Minded]

The reason - 8.2 million workers have been out of work for an avg of 20.3 months. Most aren't counted in the unemployment statistics. 5.63% doesn't tell the whole story.

Remember George Bush Sr. lost because of jobs and the economy. GWB hopefully will not go down for the same reason.

[Beck_isright]

When a nation sells out it's sovereignty for the "greater good" of the world, that is the true path to socialism. IMHO we're now off the path to it, and on the superhighway....

[Alberta's Child]

I know someone else who is always complaining about "the economy," and yet his company had its strongest year ever in 2003, he has never been unemployed in his life, nobody in his family has ever been unemployed, etc.

Go figure.

[oceanview]

the Enroners, Worldcomers, all the people who became html coders straight out of starbucks and worked at pets.com, were all flushed out of the system by the end of 2001. IBM and Oracle aren't offshoring people like that now.

[Beck_isright]

I'm not hearing that. I'm hearing more of the quitting of the political system, a total loss of faith in both parties. And that's more disturbing as the viability of a third party is crucial to turning this sinking ship around.

[oceanview]

even people with jobs (like myself for example) make an assessment as to what would happen to them if they lost their job.

[Alberta's Child]

Someone who is self-employed doesn't have to worry about losing his job -- at least insofar as he can react to changes in his line of business.

[oceanview]

yes, but thats only because even though Bush has handed the Dems this issue on a silver platter, they have yet to make effective arguments to people about it. If Kerry had a little dose of Ross Perot economic populism, he'd by 15 points ahead now.

still, the Dems will acheive a net benefit from this in the end, disgusted people don't vote for an incumbent. For Bush, electorally it may well be confined to states he was going to lose anyway (CA, NY, NJ, CONN, MA).