Lemmy Lemmy:
shockedcanadian shockedcanadian:
Why would I suppose the loss of manufacturing jobs is a bad thing? That is a trick question I suppose. You want growth in all industries and sectors, especially when you take in a large amount of immigrants each year. You want us to just be a middle man, barter nation?
Manufacturing is low-paying work compared to skilled service work. The whole purpose of NAFTA was offload low-paying, repetitive work that no one in Canada wants to do. It's also dirty work. If we let other nations do dirty, low-paying work that leads to stress disorders (where do you think the phrase "Going postal" comes from? - repetitive stress), that's good for the country.
So, no, I want us to be a high-tech, high-value added, service and R&D nation.
nutsy nutsy:
According to Industry Canada:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/industr ... -1.3151725The government has also been touting its investments in the auto sector, which the Industry Canada report notes is a "key driver" of growth post-recession, alongside the aerospace industry.
But there has been a net loss of 212,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario and 97,000 in Quebec since 2004, the document says.
A loss of manufacturing jobs doesn't mean a loss of manufacturing. It means manufacturing jobs are being replaced by technology. But manufacturing itself, the output of factories, rises yearly. We don't want to begrudge companies who find better, more efficient, more profitable and more competitive ways to get their products to market, do we? And wouldn't you rather your son or daughter be a computer programmer or robotics technician in a modern plant than some scrub on a line doing the same thing over and over for 8 hrs a day?
Go tell Germany that manufacturing doesn't pay well.
Technology can be applied anywhere, do you think that factories in Mexico and China don't use technology? We should want that technology employing Canadian workers, on Canadian soil. That's what America and the rest of the world wants, we shouldn't be any different. This blaming all job losses on technology is bogus. Also, more companies pop up everyday, not all of them have the capital to automate from inception.
It's not about begrudging companies who engage in free trade, it's about balancing these efforts when the pendulum swings so far and Globalization isn't about competition, skill sets and innovation but simply a race to the bottom. I believe in globalization, but it has to be tweaked, it has been a one way street for a decade. it is not sustainable, nor should it be expected that Americans would just shrug their shoulders and burden the heavy costs unfairly. I was drinking from the same globalization kool-aid for a long time and in theory I embrace it, the reality is that this is dangerous. It is inherently more dangerous because China in in the WTO, a Communist regime that is taking these jobs while threatening military expansion.
Let put it this way. I'm not in government, I don't vote in the American election. The saying that the "voter is never wrong" applies here. This was Americas decision. The outcome was, that if American companies have an obligation to their shareholders and bottom lines, governments also have an obligation to their stakeholders; the voters. The voters decided that trade has been unfair with Canada and Mexico. Even worse for China. Furthermore society has decided that an $800B trade deficit with a Communist nation who actively conducts cyberspying and military theft is not a good policy long term.
This being said, I believe in laissez-faire economics. No nation meddles more in their society and the economy than China. They apply tariffs and actively undervalued their currency. They are building islands out in the ocean and threaten our allies and America itself. Companies are indirectly sponsoring these abuses when they provide the engine for Chinas economy.
Bottom line. The government has to decide what makes sense, what limits on trade and engagement with foreign governments is reasonable. There are sanctions on Russia, do we expect that this is unfair to free trade? There were sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Should companies complain this is unfair to their competitive pursuits? There are limits.
CKA Uber 
