Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
I think one of the basic flaws of the original article is the statement that Germany's economy works well. I lived there for nine years, the article doesn't mention how much other things cost the German worker. I'm pretty sure that if you looked at what kind of life style those wages bring the German worker, as opposed to the U.S., things wouldn't seem so disparate.
But historically the wages and benefits were about the same between the US and German autoworker-~$28/hr plus benefits. Now the US worker is pushed down to under $15/hr and less benefits and in some case under $12 and no benefits. US prices haven't changed are gone down really. We still have yearly inflation in the US. You might argue prices and cost lowered as places like Detroit became economically depressed, but that's little consolation.
The main point is even at the higher wage and benefit level the Big 3, while it had it's problem, was profitable in the past. The workers had the rug pulled out from them in big part with changes in trade and how worker compensation is viewed.
Japan, German and Korean automakers whose workers in their domestic markets are unionized and compensated similar to how US workers use to be were able to set up transplants here. They were able to set up non-unionized plants and pay in many case under $15/hr and have full control over their workers. On top of that they were given hundred of millions of dollars in subsidies that payed these workers lower wages.
Seems like the agenda in the US to get rid of the middle class and unions and drive down wages and tax revenues. It's a story of the race to the bottom.
I think one of the basic flaws of the original article is the statement that Germany's economy works well. I lived there for nine years, the article doesn't mention how much other things cost the German worker. I'm pretty sure that if you looked at what kind of life style those wages bring the German worker, as opposed to the U.S., things wouldn't seem so disparate.
But historically the wages and benefits were about the same between the US and German autoworker-~$28/hr plus benefits. Now the US worker is pushed down to under $15/hr and less benefits and in some case under $12 and no benefits. US prices haven't changed are gone down really. We still have yearly inflation in the US. You might argue prices and cost lowered as places like Detroit became economically depressed, but that's little consolation.
The main point is even at the higher wage and benefit level the Big 3, while it had it's problem, was profitable in the past. The workers had the rug pulled out from them in big part with changes in trade and how worker compensation is viewed.
Japan, German and Korean automakers whose workers in their domestic markets are unionized and compensated similar to how US workers use to be were able to set up transplants here. They were able to set up non-unionized plants and pay in many case under $15/hr and have full control over their workers. On top of that they were given hundred of millions of dollars in subsidies that payed these workers lower wages.
Seems like the agenda in the US to get rid of the middle class and unions and drive down wages and tax revenues. It's a story of the race to the bottom.
