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"Rather, we're pampered by services of various sorts."
I've always wondered what they are.
I've always wondered what they are.
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“Now we declare… that the law-making power or the first and real effective source of law is the people or the body of citizens or the prevailing part of the people according to its election or its will expressed in general convention by vote, commanding or deciding that something be done or omitted in regard to human civil acts under penalty or temporal punishment….” (Marsilius of Padua, „Defensor Pacis“, AD 1324) -
It's not easy to see tangibly. I have been trying to figure it out ever since I first visited Europe. But you have to remember that the vast majority of our economy is service-oriented.How do you know we have a higher standard of living then the Euros?I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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Yes, most jobs are service jobs but how does that equal a higher standard of living then in Europe where most jobs are also service jobs?Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Well if you compare some stats, industry is about a third of EU GDP and a quarter of US GDP (that uses a broader definition than manufacturing in US stats). So we have, forgetting about agriculture:
--per capita GDP services industry
US 35000$ 26000$ 9000$
EU 25000€ 17000€ 8000€
The usual PPP conversion is about 1.1, so Americans work a couple hundred hours per year more to produce and consume 7000-8000$ extra in services. How much that contributes to standard of living is an interesting question.“Now we declare… that the law-making power or the first and real effective source of law is the people or the body of citizens or the prevailing part of the people according to its election or its will expressed in general convention by vote, commanding or deciding that something be done or omitted in regard to human civil acts under penalty or temporal punishment….” (Marsilius of Padua, „Defensor Pacis“, AD 1324)Comment
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What bothers me is that "cheap labor" is often nothing more than a polite euphemism for "slave labor". I think it is significant that if Big MultiNational Company treated their workers in the US the way they treat their foreign workers, they'd be hauled into court and fined. Lower costs are the usual reason for shipping jobs oversees, however I suspect it's mostly just a dodge to avoid providing decent working conditions to workers.
During the 80's I remember Americans actually being outraged by the abysmal treatment of South African blacks at the hands of their gov't and companies that employed them. Boycotts and divestitures were the result and it forced many companies to adopt the Sullivan Principles, guaranteeing an equivalent work environment for blacks and whites. Too bad we have nothing like this today.
I’ve always liked the idea of tying workers wages to CEO compensation or corporate net profit. No CEO can earn more than, say, 50 times as much as the lowest paid worker. Very uncapitalistic yes, but there’s a certain fairness to it.Comment
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Hysterical war veterans often complain that people who opposed the last war in Iraq are unpatriotic.
Why isn't it the case that corporate executives are seen as unpatriotic when they send so many jobs overseas?A lot of Republicans are not racist, but a lot of racists are Republican.Comment
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Would not you enjoy paying huge fees to lawyers for trials against your suppliers?Originally posted by HershOstropoler
... so Americans work a couple hundred hours per year more to produce and consume 7000-8000$ extra in services. How much that contributes to standard of living is an interesting question.
Statistical anomaly.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.Comment
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We always get our stuff in paper bags when we buy something!I've always wondered what they are.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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"Would not you enjoy paying huge fees to lawyers for trials against your suppliers?"
That's one area. Or spending 50 billion $ on prison services.
"We always get our stuff in paper bags when we buy something!"
It would annoy the hell out of me to have some clown packing my groceries. So I perform that service myself, am happy, but GDP wise I'm poorer.
“Now we declare… that the law-making power or the first and real effective source of law is the people or the body of citizens or the prevailing part of the people according to its election or its will expressed in general convention by vote, commanding or deciding that something be done or omitted in regard to human civil acts under penalty or temporal punishment….” (Marsilius of Padua, „Defensor Pacis“, AD 1324)Comment
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Well, we spend a little more on R&D, higher education, construction, and lawyering. A lot more on health services.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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"R&D"
Yes. Although that is often an intermediate good/service.
"higher education"
No, you're just doing a lot of 2nd level education at colleges.
"construction"
Not a service, only the use of buildings.
"lawyering"
And you get an incredibly crappy deal out of it, but it's only about 1-2 % of GDP IIRC.“Now we declare… that the law-making power or the first and real effective source of law is the people or the body of citizens or the prevailing part of the people according to its election or its will expressed in general convention by vote, commanding or deciding that something be done or omitted in regard to human civil acts under penalty or temporal punishment….” (Marsilius of Padua, „Defensor Pacis“, AD 1324)Comment
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