How to Unf★ck Employment

[@floydwilkes9904]

Thank you Howard Dean. Your analysis is so prescient. So spot on. You’re an economic rockstar.

[@Larez121]

The issue is class. Those in the upper class, who have the higher paying jobs, maintain the barriers to benefit themselves. So they lobby (bribe) politicians to sign trade deals benefitting them.

[@RuthmarieHicks]

It's interesting. I have a Ph.D. in biomedical science. When I was in the pipeline, people with Ph.D.s were still making bank if they chose pharma or biotech (late 90s-early 2000s). Academia was always another story. But the flood of H1-Bs, J-1s, and graduate students started really taking a toll during that period. By the time I graduated, jobs were scarce due to a massive glut and the salaries were just not there. Had I gotten an M.D., I still would have been able to make good money. It was obvious why. The system was NOT being flooded with M.D.s from abroad like the sciences were.

[@علي-ش7ث8ب]

*weak nations are sustaining the living standards in Western countries,they're slaves,now the living standards of these slaves have gone up so they're consuming their products domestically,plus Western countries have been using the Financial system for their political ambitions so these slave countries are saying:We can't trust the financial system anymore,we need our own **system.Now** western countries are left with very high living standards and an internal economies that can't sustain their insane lifestyle,everything is evening out and this is the real cause of inflation,for them to keep their lifestyle they have to do the work of 50 yrears in only 5 years which is impossible,printing money will not help,it will make the situation even worse,Westerners have to adapt to consuming only what their domestic economies are offering them,let's hope that this crash is smooth and controlled and let's pray that this situation will not lead to a global war.*

[@dannywindham3295]

Dean Baker please run for president seriously

[@dianeorehek4633]

It’s a time of implosion: chickens of greed are coming ‘home’ to roost

[@MrBrindleStyle]

​Is it a time of redefinition - in a labour market of mechanisation; computerised systems and organising and of course off-shore production. EMPLOYMENT TODAY MEANS WHAT?

[@jamesmorton7881]

Engineering in the US of A, we gutted the entire profession. Outsourced, or you become a contractor or consultant. No suport technical staff needed. Glad i was able to vote with my feet. . . . . . and retire.

[@stewartjohnston3975]

Doctor and lawyers are the protected class. Unionized workers are somewhat protected if their industry is protected from globalization.

[@amitavr5711]

A question for Dr Baker regarding something from the video that didn't quite convince me enough. In case of manufacturing sector the commodities are simply commodities. While if we import professional service workers they will become part of the US workforce and residents of the country. In this case I don't think Stolper-Samuelson theorem will apply for professional services. Labour isn't a final good, it's a factor unlike shoes or cars. In case of importing professional services, the workers will become part of the economy thereby maintain at least the same level of wages as before (see works of David Card). I don't see how exposing professionals to global competition would depress their real wages, even though it will have some indirect economic benefits to the rest of the populations.

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

I think it depends on the magnitude of the change in the supply of these professionals relative to existing demand, and the demand that they themselves add. If the supply of orthodontists increases by 25% but that only translates to a 10% increase in demand for orthodontists, then I think there's nowhere for average orthodontists' salary to go but down.

[@amitavr5711]

@@xxcrysad3000xx Yes. This somewhat makes sense. Although I have yet to come across empirical papers supporting this proposition as such, especially in professional services. Do share any papers if you have come across relating to the same. It's also likely that the professionals collude in an oligopolistic way to maintain high salary for themselves.

[@aaronhoy3410]

@Amitav R I don't know of any papers to link you, but I would just point out that while in goods the final output is the actual product itself, however in services it is hard to see how one could separate the final output [the actual service provided,] from the person providing that service. Like, if your going to a doctor to have them look at/fix an issue then how do separate that doctor out as merely a factor & not the final output? Besides, while the example given inherently involves immigrant labor, the actual depression on wages would come from the elimination in protectionist labor barriers that are limiting the competition of workers. Really a similar type of effect mechanism as occupational licensing requirements for jobs. The example in the video involves both aspects of change, but it's really the latter which is effecting the wages while the former is merely sort of the knock on effect due to the barriers being targeted are ones that limit immigrant entry into the labor pool. As for papers on that, I don't know of any econ papers published in academic journals, but I do know of a couple government reports on the subject that obviously have numerous citations included. There is one from the National Conference of State Legislatures titled "The Evolving State of Occupational Licensing" & there is one from the Federal Trade Commission titled "Policy Perspectives: Options to Enhance Occupational License Portability". They take a much broader look about occupational licensing in general, but these do include discussions of the effects licensing has on labor supply, wages, etc...

[@mrtitanium427]

I'm listening. Thank you

[@PyroShredder982]

So is protectionism the answer?

[@tradeprosper5002]

Interesting that he left engineers out of "high paid" category Outsourcing hit process engineers, quality engineers, and industrial engineers. High tech did well, but traditional engineers not so much. Civil engineers not as bad as other traditional categories.

[@Larez121]

Maybe because it's easier to explain the situation with doctors and manufacturing workers to demonstrate his point. But yeah I would have liked to see how engineers of all stripes made out in the current trade deals.

[@Mr.Nichan]

4:15 You'd have to control for everything [else] wrong [or right] with the American medical economy relative to other economically "comparable" countries.

[@hud86]

I realized something was up when most of the vacation home customers were upgrading their bathrooms and kitchens every five years. They were either doctors, lawyers, or government workers. I barely made enough to pay rent making their lives more lavish. Then I saw elderly loosing their life savings to these people and thought: what monsters! Somehow though, people act like they aren't sleezbags and keep begging them for bullshit advice and jobs

[@DemonetisedZone]

Its a class thing

[@Larez121]

Exactly!

[@Chasebald]

But if we're at full employment, is it possible (or desirable) to bring home manufacturing? What about all the service sector positions in the private and public sector that are currently going unfilled? Would the solution then involve radically embracing immigration?

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

One reason all those positions go unfilled is employers no longer provide paid on the job training on the low end of the economy, they expect job applicants to have years of experience, certifications or degrees before they'll even consider hiring a person.

[@SteveAyliffe]

👍👍

[@Mr.Nichan]

9:22 This graph looks like a really weak argument, particularly given that you got to choose which rich countries to compare us to, and not obviously in any systematic way. I suppose it _might_ be just illustrative of a larger analysis, though.

[@Mr.Nichan]

I hate how economists always use graphs where the bottom isn't zero to make changes and other differences look bigger.

[@YoriYoiHitotachi]

None of this sounds like something good for being employed seems like lower the wages of professionals......

[@ayeguyy779]

it is good in that it will lower the ability of the professionals to sabotage working class movements and realign their class interests.