AbraCadabra! Where did all the jobs go?

If you go back and look at my response you are referring to, it simply says "Legal cartel - OPEC."

OPEC = 1

cartel:
1. An association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.
2. historical A coalition or cooperative arrangement between political parties intended to promote a mutual interest.

Based on the definition of the word 'cartel' I accept OPEC to meet the requirements of being a cartel, and since the OPEC members produce nearly half of the worlds daily oil consumption, currently about 44%, it has the ability to exercise a great amount of control over the price of oil and does so. Remember the 70's?

How are you defining pride?

Politics has become a major factor, if not THE major factor, upon which many if not most behavioral decisions, actions and reactions are made both individually and collectively today. The last sentence above sums up the opinion of the author of the article you provided a link to.

 

Okay, we're back on topic again.
Yes, many jobs went to China, and various other countries, and I agree that high taxes, unions, and costly regulations were among, but not the ONLY reasons of that happening.

 

Nobody said those were the only reasons so why are you wasting your time talking about it?

 

We are not talking about whether OPEC was a cartel in the 1970s we are talking about whether there are any cartels now as you said and so far there are none so this is something that crazy liberals bring up because their puppet masters tell them to

Oh and interestingly OPEC is no longer a cartel thanks to Republican fracking and Republican horizontal drilling.

 

Because the thread topic asks "Where did all the jobs go? And since we can easily find where they went we would be much better served by answering the question of "why" if the intent is to find a solution.

 

You seem intent on ignoring the threads topic, but as I said:
"OPEC members produce nearly half of the worlds daily oil consumption, currently about 44%, it has the ability to exercise a great amount of control over the price of oil and does so."
Republican fracking. Republican horizontal drilling? Cost per barrel produced?
Around $10 per barrel like the Saudi shallow wells?

cartel:
1. An association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.
2. historical A coalition or cooperative arrangement between political parties intended to promote a mutual interest.

OPEC fits the definition of a cartel for me. Of course you can disagree if you wish.
Not much to be gained by carrying on further as we each know where the other stands on the cartel issue.

 

of course if true oil prices would not be at a 12 year low. See we they say liberalism is based in ignorance?

 

jobs went to China where 600 million entered the middle class thanks to liberal taxes, regulations, and unions they drove American jobs to China.

 

In the greater area in which I live, there are 'help wanted' signs in almost every business! They have been posted for weeks/months. People I know in business all of them complain about how difficult it is to find employees. I'm a farmer and it's 10-times more difficult to find workers!

I'm guessing most of these jobs are $10-$20/hour and IMO most people simply don't wish to work for these wages. I'm also guessing most of these same people do not possess expanded education and skills, and if I'm correct, this means lots of people are not qualified for higher-paying jobs yet they refuse to take the lower paying jobs? Why do we have millions of Americans now out of the workforce?

I don't think the issue is so much about 'where did all the jobs go' as it is about 'why do so many Americans choose not to work?'...

 

1. An association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.

 

Yes, we've already agreed that China is one place many jobs Americans used to perform have been moved to, and that taxes, regulations, and even unions are among the reasons for jobs to move elsewhere.

 

You're quite right, the thread title "Abracadraba! Where did all the jobs go?" seems to imply need of an unnatural answer to the following question, although I feel the intent was to incite some to feel as though something has been stolen from them.
The answer to the question "where" can easily be found for each job that has left and still being performed. The answer to "why" can also be easily determined with little effort.

You make an excellent point, and ask a much more rational and relevant question, "Why do we have millions of Americans now out of the workforce?".

Perhaps for a large number, the answer is simply because they can survive without needing to work?

 

and now America has enough oil and gas to supply the world for 250 years so it does not appear OPEC restricted competition

 

1) too many welfare entitlement programs
2) too many people willing to support family members who don't work mostly because jobs are so easy and so profitable nowadays it is not a huge strain to do so.
3)before Mexicans came it used to cost $4000 to paint an apartment. Today Mexican do it for $400 thus Mexicans have killed 30 million low end jobs that American would have done at far higher wages.

 

World consumption of oil, from what I find is currently a little more than 35 billion barrels per year. Perhaps the U.S. proven reserves could satisfy that need for one year. Proven oil reserves in the U.S. are 37-49 billion barrels.

Saudi Arabia has the lowest cost of oil production, about $9 per barrel. The cost is significantly higher in most other countries, some nearly $50 per barrel. In the U.S. it costs about $21-$24 per barrel. If ones competitor can sell at a profit for less than what your cost to produce the same product, would that not have a significant effect on your ability to compete?

If you feel the jobs question has been answered to your satisfaction, perhaps you should leave this thread to those who wish to continue discussing it and open a new thread on the subject of oil and cartels?

 

Oil prices are at 12 year low thanks to Republican capitalism, Republican fracking and horizontal drilling.

 

Jobs have not gone anywhere since employment is 96%. Pay has not risen for many thanks to liberal policies : taxes , regulations, budget deficits, immigration, and the attack on family schools religion rendering many unfit for work

 

So you think Americans receiving government support are getting enough to avoid working?

It's great when family members provide support!

Your careless and disrespectful use of the word 'Mexicans' shows your xenophobia and ignorance...

 

Low wages are the reason jobs are offshored. You may hate unions regs and taxes, but the reasons companies moved is so they don't have to pay American workers what they once earned. Whether that fact is good or bad depends on your viewpoint. and the GOP has certainly not been the defender of the American workers.

 

exactly, 75% on welfare, for example, don't work at real jobs. When Clinton turned
welfare into workfare fully half decided they were no longer poor enough to work. Most women who get section 8 housing will have a man freeloading off them, etc etc. Many who get SS disability get it so they don't have to work anymore, etc etc.

 

BS of course. The Republican policies would bring back millions of the jobs liberal policies drove off shore.

 

it would be far greater if we had a Republican capitalist economy so kids could support themselves

 

if you have evidence I will pay you $10,000. Bet??

 

Yes, wages are one of the reasons.
Unions, government regulations, taxes, availability/access to raw materials, access to a larger consumer base, cutting costs to allow pricing affordable to a greater number of consumers, and probably many other reasons too.
All good reasons if we're basing our view on the greater good.
Just how should the GOP or government in general be defending the American workers?

 

By cutting or eliminating taxes, regulations, unions, budget deficits, and welfare entitlements and by ending the liberal war on our families, schools, and religion which has rendered many Americans unfit for work.