There's a story about the chairman of an American company who, during his AGM speech after a particularly bad year, said, " One might reasonably ask where all the Customers have gone. "

A voice from the back of the room shouted, "You sacked them all, you moron."

I used to tell that story as a joke, but these days, hardly anybody laughs.

In the USA, it's the new reality.

Its economy, like Australia's, is designed for, in fact depends on, growth. Growth requires increasing consumption, which in turn, depends on more and more consumers. And consumers depend on jobs.

So the intellectual giants at the helms of American corporations closed more than 45,000 factories between 2001 and 2010. Now they're asking where all the customers have gone.

The answer of course is that they emigrated to China along with the jobs. Gollygee, as Gomer Pyle would have said, who could have seen that coming?

Meanwhile, the best that Harvard can produce - they work on Wall St - applauded wildly and gave said CEO's huge pay rises.

And between the lot of them, what's their solution? Hire lobbyists to bribe Congress to make sure nothing changes, all the while trying desperately to convince Americans that all these Nouveau Riche are really 'job creators'.

Yeah, they're job creators alright. It's just that the jobs they'e creating aren't in America.

The reason I'm banging on about this is that there are powerful forces at work here in Australia happy to create the same situation; using the resources boom to justify the demise of our manufacturing industry, along with its million plus jobs.

Maybe our lot didn't go to Harvard, but evidently they managed to sleep through the same lectures.

And, it would seem, most of the last two decades.
Anthony
www.observationpooint.com.au

great info anthony
here we got a pm..who promises 1 million green jobs
[while the average job creation numbers total near 5000 per month]

they also do modeling,...model bling..
that is based on 50 million of us by mid century

i hear the us numbers officially arround 9%
actually are arround 20%..and when underwork is factored in stands closer to 35%

i recall the last jobs creation 'shovel ready' thing..[in usa]
the jobs they made...were security screening..at airports..not fixing basic infastructure

dont obama know he can buy back full control over the fed reserve/fortknox gold and the mint..for less that 44.4 billion us

that then he can leverage that better than the 12 bankers did
by bailing our the workers...and making worker communes
where workers own their workplace..and managment goes suck the corperate teat elsewhere

obama coukld have fixed it all
only he renditioned the lacvkies..not those who organise
pay for and sponcer terror the saudie house of error
who manned the planes..with saudies

anyhow
its deliberated policy
treason to the highest degreee

obama might do better using his war powers
to jail real white colour criminals..who think they run the govt ponzie sceme..smart bomb some country clubs..not conduct global terror that blackens the very basis of life liberty and the persuite of credit and govt largess.

anyhow server problem indicate the web monitoring is working

I agree the point is well made.
As a trade unionist I know not every union action is right.
But here, in our forum some, who graduated from the school of failure to understand, with honors.
Think the answer is always cutting the spending power of?
Workers/Consumers.

Indeed.
There's an astonishing shortsightedness in all of this.
Just thinking about it makes my head want to explode.
In the 90's, I ran a transformer manufacturing company in Shanghai and after that a motor manufacturing company in Sydney.
In my view there is no reason at all why Australia can't compete successfully with China. We just have to look past the basic hourly rate comparison and play to our strengths.
On several occasions, I've challenged those who say we can't compete to please explain to me how it is that the world's second largest exporter of manufactured goods, Germany, also, has the highest level of unionism and the world's highest labour rates.
And, surprise, surprise, a middle class with a wonderful living standard.
Nobody has yet been able to give me a satisfactory answer.
Germany has no advantages over Australia except these three: 1. A highly educated workforce; 2: Government regulations that make it incredibly difficult and expensive to close a plant there, (so management has no choice but to figure out a way to succeed); 3. A far less combatitive industrial relations environment that allows management and unions to work together more effectively to increase productivity.
We could do all those things, plus we have the resources that Germany has to import, further adding to their costs.
But, somehow, it's all too hard.
Go figure!
Anthony
www.observationpoint.com.au

*But here, in our forum some, who graduated from the school of failure to understand, with honors.
Think the answer is always cutting the spending power of?
Workers/Consumers*

Its ok Belly. No need to name any names lol. As always,
the devil lies in the details. If you can show me why
paying Qantas pilots 50% more then Virgin pilots will
mean more ticket sales to secure the jobs at Qantas,
go right ahead.

It funny, as on the one hand we say, how did we allow all these jobs to go to the likes of Chin, yet, on the other hand, we as a nation have warmed to the cheaper goods.

Can't have your cake and eat it is one saying that comes to mind.

I have always said, the jobs are still out there, it's just that continued government and union intervention have forced the employers to jump ship and do business elsewhere.

How stupid and I'll informed are you lot. No names mentioned of cause!

From the penthouse to the S-house in less than four years.

Funny enough yabby it was not you who came to mind.
Give you a hint.
Sausage sandwich's are off the menu.
But as you put your neck out.
See QUANTAS is not the Australian economy.
Its workers not the whole union movement.
Your view,that I do not understand the issue ignores the truth.
Some facts, I want the job,,, the one that settles this dispute.
I totally support the Federal ministers view ONE UNION LEADER is UN Australian.
Let me say this.
The dispute is nearly over.
Often, such officials,speak not for the majority of their members
And as a result calmer heads prevail.
Yabby, you are uninformed about unions/workers
And in time an understand both sides use them, as cannon fodder and blame takers.
Some Australian managers, useless as the proverbial, get off the hook with buck passing.
The job? love it step one meet board of Quantas, talk about how many years to make up for losses, ask for a final offer solid honest last offer.
meet with ALL WORKERS all unions in dispute.
Take on the big mouthed fool who talked sabotage, publicly.
Put Final offer, except one small, face saving but not high cost extra, get vote if QUANTAS agrees we go back to work.
Yabby taking on the fool in union shirt wins,most workers are far from militants.
this dispute is near over believe me.

It has been going wrong for a bit longer than that rehctub.

In 92 I took over running a struggling manufacturing company. It had been going down hill for some time, struggling against imports, but even then it exported 3 times what it imported.

Over the next 5 years we were forced to source more stuff from Asia, to have any chance of staying in business.

We did not have to do anything as serious as set up manufacturing facilities, there are enough contract manufacturing organisations, who will produce to your design. These companies also had marketing rights for products they were manufacturing for US clients, some of which we added to our range.

By 2002 over half our product range was imported, & our exports were less than half of what we imported.

I always was uncomfortable increasing our imports, but faced with competition from import specialists, it was that, or shut the door.

*this dispute is near over believe me*

Whatever happens to the dispute Belly, the problem
is far from over. If Qantas International is losing
200 million a year, something drastic needs to happen.

As to the dispute, Ferguson might well enforce arbitration,
as its starting to damage the tourism industry and others.

Ar belly, sooking again hey.

These workers are simply vandals as no worker has the right to hold the general public to ransom and, if they don't like thier huge pay packets,, then go and get another job somewhere and let someone who wants the job have it.

According to your puppet, that shouldn't be to hard as we have full employment. Apparently!

So what about some sympathy for the trevling public, many of which have had their dream holidays ruined by these insensitive workers and, if they complain about the CEOs pay, then become one.

Everyone expects to be paid to much today thanks mainly to the mines.

This union thuggery was a given the moment these fools came to power.

In a cruel way, I hope qantas packs up and leaves this basket case of a country,ruined by greens, unions and incopitece at every turn.

Go-ahead mate, have another sook while I enjoy my sausage sandwich.

Rechtub, road kill?
Yabby ah mate! not like that any more arbitration?

It will end soon, see my contribution in union thread.
Rechtub sook? bloke I will until dead,stand for a fair go in the workplace.
Can you under stand I mean the Employers too.
I always, had great pride, truly valued, hearing my boss, every job I ever had, bragging about how good a worker I was.
I always, found the biggest pain, for me in my roll as union official, was looking after and idiot, who thought the world owed him a living and work was for those he bludged on.
Your fixed opinion thread after thread wages are a gift to workers,
Constructs an opinion you dislike me holding.

Belly, the fact of the matter is that times have changed and just because many are doing it tough, th answer does not lie in simply increasing wages.

Many many small businesses are bleeding, most of which have had a hug decrease in profits, yet, you lot want to increase wages, increase red tape and introduce these unworkable IR laws.

The end is coming my friend, you just have to take your blinkers off to see it.

Many small businesses will close soon, myself included and I will never employ again if I have to deal with government regulations like we have now.

I hope you lot are proud of what you have achieved in less than four years.

Just a small point about the red tape instroduced by, quote, "you lot" over the last four years.
I assume by that that you mean Labor.
So, I just wanted to point out that by far the biggest red tape impost in small business history in this country has been to do with the GST, which, if memory serves me right, was introduced by a Coalition governmnet.
Cheers,
Anthony
www.observationpoint.com.au

rehctub, there seems to be something of a structural shift ccurring, away from small business and toward large corporates. The ALP has fostered that shift, since Unions are essentially large Corporates too and large organisations like to deal with large organisations.

Not to mention that small business people are not unionists and are nearly always men...

Anthony, I can't dispute you on that one.

Anti, you are right there.

The unfortunate thing about this shift is that many small businesses are owned and operated by local community based persons and, apart from often employing locals, they also give a lot to charities and sporting groups.

I fear this may well change as many larger businesses ar now unapproachable by t averag Joe, simply seeking assistance for the local events.

I myself, in my 20 + years in business would have supported locals to an amount in excess of $300,000.

Try getting that out of a larger company, as they generally support corporate sporting venues in return fo advertising recognition.

Furthermore, large corps are more likely to go off shore if and when the opportunity arises.

Either that, or they, like in the case of Arnotts, will shed hundreds of staff in favor of multi million dollar machinery.

I remember when tarrifs started to be wound back and imports were
increasing having the thought about if the workers are sacked who will
buy the whatevers ?

I admit it has taken a long time to hit crunch point but it has arrived.
These "Occupy this or that" demos were predicted and are a symptom of
the world wide trade agreements.
I read today that there is a movement in the Qantas (Belly, no U")
dispute for the unions to take over a management role in the business.
I gather from the article that it is a result of the Fair Work laws
brought in by KRudd. It stated that the Work Choices laws removed
such provisions that had been implemented by the previous Labour
government.

Is that a fair summation Belly ?

If such a policy is to be implemented then the wages of the employees
should be tied to the profits of the company by a substantial factor.
My suggestion would be the basic wage plus a percentage of the profit.

Bazz, most wages should be paid this way.

Hourly rates, in conjunction with unfair dismissal laws often means the lowest performing worker sets the bar.

As I stands now, in most cases, an employee gets paid for how long it takes, not how much they get done.

How on earth employees can expect a pay rise, when a business is loosing money is just reckless union thuggery and it may come back to hurt them as, while they may well get thier higher wages, there will be less worked to enjoy such a windfall.

Meanwhile, the union officials jobs ar saf as houses,because thier wages are paid from subscription, not profits and that's th difference.

Rechub said:
Meanwhile, the union officials jobs ar saf as houses,because thier
wages are paid from subscription, not profits and that's th difference.

Ahh you forgot the secret commissions !

Bazz, Rehctub It doesn't work.

I had an exchange auto components business in Sydney, many years ago. I had 2 important staff, the manager of the workshop, & the manager of the reconditioning factory. I introduced a share of profits for both of them, which actually cost me both of them.

They could not believe that the net profit was as small as it was, thought I was having a lend of them, & quit.

All to often staff have no idea of the total overheads, or even the true cost of staff.

Has been, you're right.

Tish hits the fan when you have a bad week/month, because while they may be happy to share profits, they don't understand that they must also share losses.

In any case, wages come from profits and that's alll there is to it.

And, if profits are decreasing while wages are increasing, you have a potential problem.

Try telling that to any union.

In our area we have unqualified people claiming living away from home allowance yet they live at home in their home. This is to bring them into line with qualified people living away from home & actually work. Go figure ?