Ohio Job Losses Worst Since Great Depression

I live in Ontario, which is in pretty much the same situation as the American Midwest. Basically free trade outsourced all our good jobs and eventually we'll be so poor we can't afford to shop at Wal-Mart. Good times. Ohio is doing so bad it's not even funny. Same as Michigan. The US government should start putting tariffs and charging businesses that outsource.

I live in Columbus. In Columbus, it is easier to find a job than 90% of the rest of the state. We have Nationwide Insurance and the Limited that offer many jobs, but it still is difficult to find a job.

Who is to blame for this? NAFTA, greedy businesses, greedy unions, state regulations that inhibit small business, Republicans, CAFTA, outsourcing, Democrats, consumer demand, and many other things.

Remember Bush saying the USA economy is strong? Now they want to give us free money ROFL. Bush must like the taste of his shoes because he puts his foot in his mouth all the time. If the government is giving away money, you can be assured that the economy is on the brink of a collapse.

Now they want to give us free money ROFL.

no such thing as free money. This 'free' money is nothing but a sad attempt by the federal government reconcile the trillions of dollars taken it takes from its population. You are just getting some the money that you earned already, back.

The economic stim pack will not help ohio for these reasons.

People in Ohio will use the money to pay off debt, or pay for basic neccessities many are lacking in this state. We cannot stimulate production or our market if the money never sees the market. The money will go back into the banks it came from, making them more wealthy.

If we used the money to buy products (as intended) we will be buying products produced by other countries 90% of the time.

What the stim pack should do is deregulate our economy, so it would be easier for an individual to start a small business. Small business will continue to suffer if one has to be wealthy to start a business. These regulations just allow the large corporations to exist without competition.

Originally posted by DINSTAAR
I live in Columbus. In Columbus, it is easier to find a job than 90% of the rest of the state. We have Nationwide Insurance and the Limited that offer many jobs, but it still is difficult to find a job.

After getting chased by anomalies into Cleveland (I swear...), I found a job there faster than in Columbus (I tried Columbus, too) - even with "anomalies" chasing me.
Right now I do software support with a company that moved me from Cleveland to Philadelphia, and says they will be moving me back to Cleveland soon. I make like $15-$16/hr.
But, considering how many interviews I had to run to, I must say that the job market is tough.
The only thing is that I could swear that I found a job in Cleveland right after I hopped off the Greyhound (at 3am, with only like ten bucks left in my pocket) and started making money, where in Columbus I slept on a cold floor (no job in sight), then they tried to feed me some raw eggs and moldy cereal before I just ran back to Cleveland and got another job like the same day.
Not that I like Cleveland or anything (very hateful and prejudiced, and lots of grossly poor folks, and cold enough freeze you), but I thought the job outlook was better.

reply to post by MegaCurious


It also greatly depends on the fields of which one works. All fields are different and are greatly dependent on the types of services that are available in different areas.

reply to post by Rockpuck


aLL THESE companies are in debt to the central banks.....this is why their value flucutates because it is only based on DEBT.
They have no right to take labor away from the working class because the system exploits labor for profit and since labor and money are the only avenues in this society towards unconditional freedom these bastards should be put in jail for attempted MURDER!!!!!!
Any conservative yahoos or rightwing christian disinformers want to argue with me they can send me a U2u

As much as I hate to say it the government cannot be blamed for this in its entirety.

Though they do play a large part in the whole job loss that is happening, by encouraging the outsourcing that is happening.

The other part of the blame can be laid on the Americans themselves. Because our greed has led us to this point. We as Americans seem to have a need for the newest best things out on the market and are willing to pay huge amounts for these things, an example the iphone. The things we as Americans are addicted to are not made here in the US so we are not really funding our own economy, and in turn we demand a higher rate of pay more often taking more funds from the economy. As I mentioned the iphone was a big hitter that sold fast and brought out huge profits for Apple. What is the importance of such a thing that is nothing more than an adult toy? Add that to the number of HDTVs that have been sold over the past years and their cost. Even most of the poorest in the U.S. hold more wealth than some of the richest in other areas. Yet we have people who cannot afford to pay their house payments and are by far over burdened with credit card debt.

There are jobs that are available for people that have the knowledge and are willing to take a step toward their futures. The old saying it takes money to make money comes to mind when speaking about getting the training or schooling to achieve a higher means of life. Though not everyone can have the same jobs I see daily jobs posted for over the road drivers and different levels of nursing. Jobs like these are not jobs that will be outsourced because they are needed here by people who can do the job. Other places can be moved away in a day’s noticed with little or no trouble. This will not change until our government starts fining companies that outsource.

Not that finding a job is always easy. Often finding one can take some time and be stressful. But there are those who will not work for less than a certain amount leaving some job offers unanswered. When it comes down to it some cash is better for putting some food on the table than no cash putting no food on the table. Of course one could always go out and hunt, fish, and grow their own food. But even this can cost money and not all of it can be done year round in such a manner to keep all Americans alive. If more Americans were willing to take more jobs there would be less left for illegal immigrants to take and steal from our economy.

Americans are more than likely paid more overall for their jobs than any other country (if I am wrong I would love to know who gets paid top dollar). Americans also pay overall less for gasoline than many other countries.
Unfortunately the outsourcing and job loss situation is a double edged sword that few want to see both edges of. Both parties demand more money for their contributions the workers and the companies.

But his is my view of it you may or may not agree.

But regardless you cannot blame the government for American greed. You can blame them though for a good portion of why the economy is like it is.

Raist

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Slavic Village feels like it is on its death bed. I live in the slavic village area and there are numerous houses empty and boarded up just like the article states. It is a sad environment at the moment and it doesn't look like it will ever get better. The cycle is slavic village is going to repeat itself and maybe this time it will be the nail in the coffin.

reply to post by Raist


You have made some very valid points Raist however with our ecconomy driven by consumerism it is paramount that we have better than world average pay, low unemployment, security in personal finances be they personal loans, bank driven loans for major purchases and the ability to be rathe free from worry on medical problems.

Our fuel costs must remain low due to the size of the country. Mass public transit can only cover a small area in major cities like Chicago, NYC, Washington, LA and San Fran. Large area cities like Jacksonville, FL, Cincinnati and St. Louis just are not ecconomically efficient especially adding this late in game. Our transportation industry is deeply tied to fuel costs and is slowly changing by using intermodel containers and railways. Billions are being spent by CSX and others to upgrade railways and hubs. Eventually there will be an extra step by large docking warehouse distribution into smaller straight box trucks vs. the OTR semi-trucks. Those will become more double-trailer hauls. Give that about 15-20 years.

In the meantime, things are looking bleak for the middle class as far as job stability and hiring practices to accustomed wage levels. When large numbers of housholds drop from $50k-75k to $30k-40k per year, choices have to be made between eating, utilities or housing. God forbid you throw a medical condition in the mix. Post-dot com burst, employers demanded college degrees for entry level tech positions. Basketweaving was accepted, just had to have a degree. Here in Ohio it was worsened by the fact that we have more colleges and universities than any other state and in some cases several states combined. Just off the top of my head Cincinnati alone has UC, Xavier, Cinncy Tech, Southwestern CC, and Phoenix International...there may be another one, not counting trade and technical schools like ITT Tech. Heck it wasn't that many years ago that Oxford, OH had 2 colleges and 1 university. All are now Miami U. and current population is 15k not counting students. Dayton, OH has 3-4 colleges and several tech schools.

Compound that job market with factory/business relocation to states with lower tax breaks, outsourcing of manufactoring and service jobs like phone support (and even telemarketing, bleh). Lower adjusted wages for new hires and the ever popular illeagal immigrant population of roughly 60k in the surrounding 4 counties and you start to get the idea that things are not good here.

Taft's sales tax restructuring hurt small family owned businesses as well as the proliferation of Super Wal-Marts the past 6 years. $10 to mow the yard is now $10.65 due to taxes. You can charge the extra or adjust your rates to cover it. But if you do not claim and file, the state AG sends you a nice letter of overdue taxes and fines to the tune of $2500-$5500 or more depending on their "best guess" of what is owed.

Now here is the kicker, before the Great Depression there were factories being built not closing. Industries built on consumables thrived, Procter & Gamble made a fortune (still do) off of soap, toothpaste and cleaning supplies. Mosler Safe Co. (now long gone) made virtualy every bank vault there was as well as 85% of privately owned safes. NCR (National Cash Register) did very well...not even sure if they are still around now, but definately not the place it once was. Delphi is about to go the way of Fisher Body and Studebaker Motors.

As for Canada, well if GM and Ford tank, Windsor and the surrounding area are pretty much dead. Right now Detroit is as bad or worse than Cincinnati. The GM and Ford plants between Toledo and Cleveland are a shoe drop from closing (those still left open). Some will argue the fallacy of basing a city around a single major plant...see Rochester, NY and Eastman Kodak...but unfortunately the people that make those choices are not the ones that will suffer.

2012 had better be a global salvation because frankly I foresee the midwest hitting total collapse by 2013 if we can make it that long. As for myself, I am currently debating on raising the one finger salute and going Grizzly Adams.


[edit on 25-2-2008 by Ahabstar]

reply to post by Ahabstar


You are right; our economy is based on American spending. But it is based on responsible spending which is not something you see much anymore.

People have developed the idea that (as a co-worker said the two days ago) the American way is to live above your means. An economy cannot stand on good intentions alone. One may have the good intentions to pay off all of the debt they continue to accumulate, but it comes down to the fact that they cannot do it. If debts are not being paid the economy is going to fall. If debts are not being paid you start to see joblessness. I know if I owned a business and that was no longer pulling in enough to stay afloat I would close as well, either that or move it to some place that I could make the same product cheaper I think this is only common sense.

Also with so many things now being produced overseas and not on American soil you have funds leaving the U.S. but not coming in as quickly. Even the so called American car companies are nothing more than assembly plants now. All of the components are produced in other countries for instance the plastics are often produced in Mexico or Canada, electronics are coming from China. Some of the better made cars I have seen yet are cars brought over from Japan and Korea. They are well built, about average on safety, good mileage, and due to them being brought over on ships they have a nice thick undercoating that you don’t have to pay extra for.

But the big kicker is what was said by the co-worker. I was simply in shock of what he was saying. If this is truly the common idea than we are in much more trouble than anyone is letting on, and I think it is a popular idea. Again there are people who are complaining about not having a job or not having enough for gas or food but they then go out and buy useless items. These people are buying things that lose value as soon as they leave the store. I would not pay full price for something that is not straight off a store shelf. I see people throw things out that can easily be fixed or sold. Something breaks around here I try to fix it and save much more money this way. I also do my own labor on my cars giving me the chance to pamper them with higher quality service. If you are going to get something because it is a year or whatever of no payment or interest make sure to pay it off before that time is up. This is a simple trap that grabs a lot of people knowing they will have money now but later they will be charged the full year of interest nearly doubling the overall cost of the item. If you pay it off within the time frame you do actually save money because of the sale that is also going on around the item.

Sure I have a house payment and car payments but they are in my affordability range. I’m not out buying cars that cost what I make in a year nor am I paying on a house that cost more than five times what I make in a year. Anyone stupid enough to try and live above their means deserves to lose what they basically are trying to get others to pay for through increased costs to everyone. At the same time government should be saying okay if you want to move your business to a foreign location taking away jobs from those here you will be taxed extra upon importation of your product. Also they should be required to pay for nearly a years’ salary or education while the people losing their job attempt to move forward.

The best thing many people could do now is start to own up to their own responsibilities and admit they might possibly have caused some of their own hardship. Others are facing the same hardship due to the idiots who are living well above their means.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


I just have to interject....not sure if someone made this point but our economy is not based on consumerism. It is based on DEBT. We constantly borrow and borrow and borrow because the system was created for us in this way. The way the central banks CREATE our money supply is through lending and this has been perpetuated for over 100 years until the value of our currency has been completely tapped out and doubled over itself only to represent more debt. THAT is the problem people.....not spending.
Yes....spending is a problem but only the grand grand grand child of the real problems. We cant fix what comes out of the factory if we dont fix the machines first.
Please lets keep this in mind about our economy......

reply to post by GUICE2


While it might be based on debt it is based only on debt that can and will be paid.

Please explain to me or provide some proof of any economy that can survive on nothing. By nothing I mean absolutely no income coming in. If your job ask you to work for credit that they would never pay would you still work for them?

While this economy may have been handed to us in this fashion we as people had a chance to change that by not falling for the “it is okay everyone else is getting it” attitude. Just because some guy up the road is drowning in debt does not mean I should be as well.

I have the advantage of knowing I am within my spending needs because I chose not to over burden my budget. It is called common sense and smart budgeting, though it seems many would like to call it penny pinching and being overly prudent. Call it what you will I believe my family is in a stable condition and that is what counts not how much cool stuff I have that will not put food in my belly.

Raist