Who Do You Work For?

[hillary supporter]

Look carefully at the figures. Even though America has less manufactoring JOBS, it is still the manufactoring LEADER. Technology has replaced manufactoring jobs. While the headlines intimidate those in government employ, it forgot to mention a lot of labor involved in most service jobs.
Manufactoring numbers include products we take for granted the largest being commerical airplanes.... nobody builds airliners like America. Nobody.

[BridgeTroll]

Except Airbus...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380

[uptowngirl]

So we are discounting everything that is not manufactured, writing books, creating web services ,programs/software (used by manufacturers), medicines, multiple patents, and copy rights.... we are now just looking at hard manufacturing such as planes, cigars, and such?

[Timkin]

Compared to 50-60 years ago, America is practically out of the manufacturing business...

[hillary supporter]

So we are discounting everything that is not manufactured, writing books, creating web services ,programs/software (used by manufacturers), medicines, multiple patents, and copy rights.... we are now just looking at hard manufacturing such as planes, cigars, and such?

Apparently so, and as you pointedout, in doing so, one completely misses the point

Except Airbus...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380

I have found that many find Airbus inferior to American airliners (Boeing, ect) Professional air pilots among others. And America produces the most commerical airliners in the world.

Compared to 50-60 years ago, America is practically out of the manufacturing business...

Sorry to disagree with you, Timkin, but thats just not true. Perhaps if you look at specific numbers addressing employment, you may be able to make a point but when you say we are "practically out of the (manufacturing business) i strongly disagree (with the utmost personal respect).
http://seekingalpha.com/article/155428-actually-china-s-not-the-world-leader-in-manufacturing-or-exports

[acme54321]

What if you work in manufacturing for the government?

[finehoe]

So we are discounting everything that is not manufactured, writing books, creating web services ,programs/software (used by manufacturers), medicines, multiple patents, and copy rights.... we are now just looking at hard manufacturing such as planes, cigars, and such?

No one said that.  Everything you mention is something that is actually produced.  The FIRE economy is non-productive, it just shifts money already made from one entity to another.

Boeing, soybeans, almonds, Hollywood, Catepillar, and Microsoft are all manufacturing stars. The U.S. sells $1 trillion in goods and services abroad: that's 7.5% of the GDP. But the U.S. imports $1.8 trillion. So the question becomes: can our exporting stalwarts sell $800 billion more a year? And if they can't, then what U.S. goods and services will appear that overseas buyers want?

If we've removed the incentives to producing actual goods, then perhaps the answer will be: there won't be any meaningful resurgence in exports, or the jobs that go with them.

[uptowngirl]

Citicorp is a financial institute, I work for another big one, and we sell a lot of the software and programs/products we create. Many of these financial institutions work hand in hand with manufactures, and even schools such as caltech and MIT in inovation center partnerships.

What I took from the story is the private sector (whether farming, financial, manufacturing) have gone through productivity changes and improvements where the government sector has not:



The employment trends described here are explained in part by hugely beneficial productivity improvements in such traditional industries as farming, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. These produce far more output per worker than in the past. The typical farmer, for example, is today at least three times more productive than in 1950.

Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.

But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn't pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores.

[finehoe]

Citicorp is a financial institute, I work for another big one, and we sell a lot of the software and programs/products we create.

And that's their main source of revenue?  Or is it just a sideline.

[Timkin]

So we are discounting everything that is not manufactured, writing books, creating web services ,programs/software (used by manufacturers), medicines, multiple patents, and copy rights.... we are now just looking at hard manufacturing such as planes, cigars, and such?

Apparently so, and as you pointedout, in doing so, one completely misses the point

Except Airbus...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380

I have found that many find Airbus inferior to American airliners (Boeing, ect) Professional air pilots among others. And America produces the most commerical airliners in the world.

Compared to 50-60 years ago, America is practically out of the manufacturing business...

Sorry to disagree with you, Timkin, but thats just not true. Perhaps if you look at specific numbers addressing employment, you may be able to make a point but when you say we are "practically out of the (manufacturing business) i strongly disagree (with the utmost personal respect).

None taken at all..  America at one time produced a printing press,  a television set, guess we still do manufacture cars, (but I wonder for how long)  We used to build furniture, manufacture steel and steel products,  these are just a few.....   I did not say we no longer manufacture anything.. just not in the vastness of half a decade ago.  Seems everything then was made in America.   Our TVs and practically any electronics come from abroad.. I do not have numbers, but would be willing to bet , half of the cars on America's roads today are not built in America..

But no.. I do not offend quite that easily    .. I respect your view point

[finehoe]

I'd be curious to know what percentage of Boeing's revenues come from government contracts.

[Timkin]

Good point, Finehoe

[Cliffs_Daughter]

I would feel more secure working for the government than a private industry. The government isn't going to close up shop and move to India.

Trust me on this one, being in the employ of the government creates its own set of insecurities. Especially now.

[hillary supporter]

I'd be curious to know what percentage of Boeing's revenues come from government contracts.

Which governments?

What if you work in manufacturing for the government?

OHHHHHH, now we re talking! Like manufacturing money, er, currency, umm dollar bill$?

[uptowngirl]

nope, I would not say it is the main source of revenue, but I would also say they do not produce anything.

Did I miss the point of the article? I thought it was people are preferring lower paying government jobs because:

there are more of them available due to not having productivity improvements
Due to unions there is hardly any way to lose your job, even if you don't do it well
The government does not produce anything