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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: Re: ????? posted by groove on March 31, 2007 at 19:26:15:
Now, the reality check is no one ever said business is fair - it's business.To me this is the crux of the discussion. Should business be fair? The culture of the U.S. says it values fair play, integrity, and the competitive spirit. We require that our citizens be honest and fair. Since corportions and large businesses are also citizens of this country, they should be held accountable for their behavior also. A company does not have the right to conduct business with no regard to the social effects of their behavior. Unfortunately business does not think this way, which has led to the rise of labor unions and government regulation. Both of these entities are a check and balance to ensure that the business sector acknowledges the societal responsibilities it has. Due to their past behavior business has created the need for both goverment oversight and labor unions. These parties did not come into existence on their own.
The point of being competitve in the world economy with new powerhouses such as China and India is an intereting topic. the U.S. advocates "free trade", but the playing field with these countries is not level. For instance China does not let free market determine the value of thier national currency. The Chinese government sets an arbitrary exhange rate, which will of course benefit them. If it were to float in the marketplace like other currencies, then Chinese goods would not be as inexpensive as they are. Other countries have close alliances between government and business. Tax breaks, lienent environmental laws, and no worker rights give these comapnies a significant competitive advantage when it comes to producing the lowest cost unit. The playing field needs to be level in order for free trade to be "fair".
So how did US companies get into this situation. I don't beleive that it was all the lazy, protected union workers that got us into this position. I thik the problem is an inherent flaw of our current business model. Companies no longer look to long term profibility and market position. Corportations are quite often being run by executives who have come up the financial side of the ledger. CFO's are now president or chairman. The value of a stock, or a minimum return on a cash investment are the tools used to measure a companies performance these days. Capital investment has to meet short term rate of return hurdles before they are considered. The control of US industry needs to come back into the hands of people who design and build products, not the individuals who track where the money flows.
One last point to consider. Every dollar of consumer spending flows through the economy. If a dollar is spent by the government, it turns over 3 times. In the private sector it turns over 7 or 8 times. Basic numbers from macro-economics. When you spend it on imports, it leaves the country and does not turn over at all. So it does not support other businesses, create new jobs, or enter the banking system as savings. It drains the economy fo a valuable resource.
If you will not pay the middle and working class of this country a susstainable wage, then who will buy the items we produce? Who will buy 25 to 30K cars? How can people afford to maintain a home? Or raise a family? This is a fundamental question of business ethics. Henry Ford understood this concept when he made the Model T. Ford paid his workers an unbelievably high wage, one which allowed his workers to be able to afford the product they were building. In the long term the US business sector needs to pay it's workers a fair wage that allows them to purchase the goods and servics being produced by the same businesses. this is only common sense, what is occuring now is not a sustainable economy.
Regards
Mister Pig
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