One thing i often don't hear mentioned but seems to intuitively matter is the issue of job stigma in construction. I live in the Denver area and when our roof was replaced, the crew was 100% latino and probably illegal. All other roofing crews I've seen are the same way. They speak Spanish on the job and play Mexican music. I think that the concentration of Hispanics/illegals has stigmatized the construction industry from the perspective of whites or anybody else. Simply for safety reasons, you probably wouldn't want to work there if you didn't speak spanish to say nothing of the cultural alienation. To enter that industry is to go into a sector where the powers-that-be have openly told you they don't care about policing the workforce or providing a living wage. Maybe a decade long concentrated push to enforce immigration laws could ameliorate, but damage has been done.
I don’t understand the supposition that foreign born workers are preventing technological advances. Huh? Does this work in the service industry? Hotel maids? Having worked I the restaurant business for 30 years, it is really hard to find American workers that will show up on time, sober, and that don’t ask for a lot of time off.
It’s hard for me to read anything JD says and take it seriously. It’s even harder to see him as a vessel of reform, a leader that decent people would want to follow. As we speak, he’s on the campaign trail openly lying about the outcome of the last election, elevating the worst act ever committed by a US president. He’s admitted he would not have certified the 2020 election, preferring to plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis. He’s attending Lance Wallnau rallies. He’s lying about hurricane relief, directly harming the people who he claims to represent. He’s lying about a variety of immigration issues, including the Springfield tragedy. In the past, he’s uttered far worse things about Don Trump than D’s utter today, yet now is a sycophant. The hurricane and Springfield lies are especially disgusting. When exactly did it become ok for elites to use their positions of influence to harm the least among us for mere political power? Who gaslights poor people who have lost everything? What kind of person does that, a “Christian”? Count me out. Character counts. Country over party.
He’s made some choices I wouldn’t have made but then Trump wouldn’t have selected him as VP nominee. He did what he did to get where he got. And now he has a voice. He won’t have to certify an election because he won’t be a sitting VP.
In four years, Trump is gone. He knows that and then he won’t have to play this game. And then he can work on the agenda Oren talks about. A lot of people get this.
On Springfield, he believed it and when it became clear it wasn’t so, he rightly said it immigration issues are still a real thing harming people. Except for the election stuff, the examples you cite can easily be applied to the other side. It’s typical politics. And I’ve explained why he has to follow the election line he’s taking, which is obvious.
What’s disgusting is an establishment that has devastated working class communities through inept policies and then 100% blames it on them, claiming it is their own dysfunction.
I just have to add, I belly laugh when I see talk here of "the establishment". Isn't anyone self aware enough to realize that Don IS the establishment? The "establishment" you're referencing was purged from the party years ago. Don and JD won, you won, you ARE the establishment. As you said, JD "has to follow the election line he's taking, which is obvious". On this we agree, it is indeed obvious. Sadly...
Hmm, seems I recall much talk about “establishment” republicans vs a “new” conservative movement. JD is a new conservative in the mold of 3 time nominee Don Trump. They dominate the party. The former establishment conservatives have been kicked out for failing to bend the knee to Don. As you accurately pointed out, JD self-gelded purely as a tactic to gain power. He believes little of what he says, he just easily slips in with Don. He’s defending an insurrectionist, and gaslighting the least fortunate among us, all in plain view. Im happy you have a leader to believe in. I’ll keep looking.
Ah I see, it's a "game". Let's leave aside your point that all politicians would blatantly lie about available disaster aid to poor people who have just lost everything, while simultaneously preening about how they are a savior of said folks. Or that "he believed" the Springfield lie, when in fact he was called out by an R mayor and governor and caused bomb threats and violence that closed schools, city buildings, etc, on top of cravenly demeaning the human beings who were targeted. One might even say he "devastated that working class community"... Your argument is: "Except for the election stuff"... Hmmm, so now it's ok to treat the peaceful transfer of power, which is the bedrock of our republic, as a "game" in order to gain personal political power is? Really? You're sticking with that? Call me crazy, but I think he's defending the most cowardly and harmful act ever committed by a US president, just to gain power. Again, count me out, character matters to me. PS, I hear Don has bibles, coins, and fancy watches for sale, oh so fitting for these grifters.
I understand. I’m just saying that to me, character matters. There are so many examples of JD’s dissembling it’s hard to pick one, though his flip flop on Don is pretty delicious. But I have to say, blatantly lying to desperate people who have lost everything, knowing it will harm them more in very real ways, jumps the shark, no? And ironically, the folks in Appalachia are “his people”, or so he told us. What kind of human being can do that? When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time…
There may be other factors to explain the decline in productivity. Ezra Klein, summarizing a paper by Austan Goolsbee points to the role increased regulations played in the decline of productivity.
I find this (on its face) to be a more compelling argument that what Oren posits, and a similar argument is put forth by Ruchir Sharma (a guest on Oren’s podcast) in his latest book on “What Went Wrong with Capitalism”. I don’t discount the notion that low-wage immigrant labor may have had some impact on declining productivity trends but it’s one possible explanation (among others) and, frankly, I would’ve expected Cass to acknowledge this, since I view him as quite intellectually honest. For example, isn’t it possible that productivity trends could’ve been *even worse* in the absence of immigrant labor?
I agree that under the table low wages depress wages for lower income and some middle income Americans. That is at the heart of their anger at politicians and government.
We need to raise wages so that workers have a legitimate shot at the American Dream. (Requiring employers to verify their workers’ legal status would be an easy first step.)
At the same time, it is important to know who are these 7 million Americans who have dropped out of the labor market? Would they look for work if more $22+/hr. jobs were available? Do they have the physical ability and skills to perform those better paying jobs? How many legal immigrants do we need to fill the jobs Americans can’t fill.
A British writer had the best term for what's happening:" Human Quantitative Easing". Import labor to keep wages low, and some firms will be able to keep going, for a while at least.
Excellent article; Although cheap labor has been touted as a way to keep prices low and businesses competitive, this comment advocates for a reevaluation of that model. The goal should be to move toward an economy that invests in higher-quality jobs, fosters domestic production, and supports workers' long-term prosperity, rather than relying on labor strategies that may undermine the broader economic fabric.
By linking cheap labor to "economic demise," you highlight the broader consequences of this approach. The inflow of cheap labor can devalue the work done by American laborers, leaving a large portion of the population economically insecure. This creates a vicious cycle where businesses, in an effort to maintain profitability, continue to rely on cheaper, often less-skilled labor. Over time, this leads to stagnant wages, increased income inequality, and a hollowing out of middle-class jobs, which can erode the economic base of communities.
The real problem behind all of it….. lack of participation in the workforce, any unwillingness to do job X, and mass immigration to which a labor market cannot properly function is wholly due to transference of wealth in the form of welfare, be it direct dollars, debit cards, housing, transportation, education, etc.
moreover, the direct dollars are thee biggest incentive to not seek out employment and for illegal immigration despite a labor market which may be shedding jobs rather than creating more than the previous day.
The state and federal govts, via politicians being in want of ever more votes to get elected, or maintain their elected positions, offer up greater and and greater amounts of money transferred from taxing people who earn compensations into the hands of those who do not, regardless of ability to earn compensations, themselves, for labors.
Most people seek to travel to the US for opportunities that exist almost nowhere else in the world.
But, there will be times, in which available opportunities via open labor shortages will be significantly limited and should suggest that the oversupply of labor would instruct workers to stay where they are or even emigrate back, or to other regions for employment opportunities.
But, welfares, in all its forms, horribly distorts the market and even incentivizes a sedentary lifestyle and not activity seeking out to be productive in a marketplace other than to consume.
I remember many times from different sources reading about Bill sitting dazed and looking like he was in a coma during policy table talks when he was president talking economics. Said he could care less. Let Rubin handle it - boring.
However, when subject got back to politics he was fully engaged and right into it. Leading the way.
In Canada, as an employer we got heavily fined if we hired workers not legally in the country. Moreover, unless you were legally there, your family couldn’t access education or healthcare. If you were caught, you were quickly deported. And guess what? Canada doesn’t have a problem with illegal immigration.
Globalists all. You can't offshore housing construction, so you onshore the work force. You see a lot of that in the service industry too. Capitalists are the perfect Marxist-no country, only class. They are more honest than Marxists in appropriating all the spoils to their class where the Marxists keep pretending they aren't doing that. Hard to see how you break the cycle at this point. Perhaps a bit of populist autarchy.
One thing i often don't hear mentioned but seems to intuitively matter is the issue of job stigma in construction. I live in the Denver area and when our roof was replaced, the crew was 100% latino and probably illegal. All other roofing crews I've seen are the same way. They speak Spanish on the job and play Mexican music. I think that the concentration of Hispanics/illegals has stigmatized the construction industry from the perspective of whites or anybody else. Simply for safety reasons, you probably wouldn't want to work there if you didn't speak spanish to say nothing of the cultural alienation. To enter that industry is to go into a sector where the powers-that-be have openly told you they don't care about policing the workforce or providing a living wage. Maybe a decade long concentrated push to enforce immigration laws could ameliorate, but damage has been done.
I don’t understand the supposition that foreign born workers are preventing technological advances. Huh? Does this work in the service industry? Hotel maids? Having worked I the restaurant business for 30 years, it is really hard to find American workers that will show up on time, sober, and that don’t ask for a lot of time off.
It’s hard for me to read anything JD says and take it seriously. It’s even harder to see him as a vessel of reform, a leader that decent people would want to follow. As we speak, he’s on the campaign trail openly lying about the outcome of the last election, elevating the worst act ever committed by a US president. He’s admitted he would not have certified the 2020 election, preferring to plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis. He’s attending Lance Wallnau rallies. He’s lying about hurricane relief, directly harming the people who he claims to represent. He’s lying about a variety of immigration issues, including the Springfield tragedy. In the past, he’s uttered far worse things about Don Trump than D’s utter today, yet now is a sycophant. The hurricane and Springfield lies are especially disgusting. When exactly did it become ok for elites to use their positions of influence to harm the least among us for mere political power? Who gaslights poor people who have lost everything? What kind of person does that, a “Christian”? Count me out. Character counts. Country over party.
He’s made some choices I wouldn’t have made but then Trump wouldn’t have selected him as VP nominee. He did what he did to get where he got. And now he has a voice. He won’t have to certify an election because he won’t be a sitting VP.
In four years, Trump is gone. He knows that and then he won’t have to play this game. And then he can work on the agenda Oren talks about. A lot of people get this.
On Springfield, he believed it and when it became clear it wasn’t so, he rightly said it immigration issues are still a real thing harming people. Except for the election stuff, the examples you cite can easily be applied to the other side. It’s typical politics. And I’ve explained why he has to follow the election line he’s taking, which is obvious.
What’s disgusting is an establishment that has devastated working class communities through inept policies and then 100% blames it on them, claiming it is their own dysfunction.
I just have to add, I belly laugh when I see talk here of "the establishment". Isn't anyone self aware enough to realize that Don IS the establishment? The "establishment" you're referencing was purged from the party years ago. Don and JD won, you won, you ARE the establishment. As you said, JD "has to follow the election line he's taking, which is obvious". On this we agree, it is indeed obvious. Sadly...
Hmm, seems I recall much talk about “establishment” republicans vs a “new” conservative movement. JD is a new conservative in the mold of 3 time nominee Don Trump. They dominate the party. The former establishment conservatives have been kicked out for failing to bend the knee to Don. As you accurately pointed out, JD self-gelded purely as a tactic to gain power. He believes little of what he says, he just easily slips in with Don. He’s defending an insurrectionist, and gaslighting the least fortunate among us, all in plain view. Im happy you have a leader to believe in. I’ll keep looking.
I mean the elites who have institutional control of the country. Come on. Corporate, educational, media, etc.
Ah I see, it's a "game". Let's leave aside your point that all politicians would blatantly lie about available disaster aid to poor people who have just lost everything, while simultaneously preening about how they are a savior of said folks. Or that "he believed" the Springfield lie, when in fact he was called out by an R mayor and governor and caused bomb threats and violence that closed schools, city buildings, etc, on top of cravenly demeaning the human beings who were targeted. One might even say he "devastated that working class community"... Your argument is: "Except for the election stuff"... Hmmm, so now it's ok to treat the peaceful transfer of power, which is the bedrock of our republic, as a "game" in order to gain personal political power is? Really? You're sticking with that? Call me crazy, but I think he's defending the most cowardly and harmful act ever committed by a US president, just to gain power. Again, count me out, character matters to me. PS, I hear Don has bibles, coins, and fancy watches for sale, oh so fitting for these grifters.
Never voted for him. Voted for McMullin, then Biden but will now because of Vance.
I understand. I’m just saying that to me, character matters. There are so many examples of JD’s dissembling it’s hard to pick one, though his flip flop on Don is pretty delicious. But I have to say, blatantly lying to desperate people who have lost everything, knowing it will harm them more in very real ways, jumps the shark, no? And ironically, the folks in Appalachia are “his people”, or so he told us. What kind of human being can do that? When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time…
There may be other factors to explain the decline in productivity. Ezra Klein, summarizing a paper by Austan Goolsbee points to the role increased regulations played in the decline of productivity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/opinion/economy-construction-productivity-mystery.html
As always, Ezra does his diligence.
I find this (on its face) to be a more compelling argument that what Oren posits, and a similar argument is put forth by Ruchir Sharma (a guest on Oren’s podcast) in his latest book on “What Went Wrong with Capitalism”. I don’t discount the notion that low-wage immigrant labor may have had some impact on declining productivity trends but it’s one possible explanation (among others) and, frankly, I would’ve expected Cass to acknowledge this, since I view him as quite intellectually honest. For example, isn’t it possible that productivity trends could’ve been *even worse* in the absence of immigrant labor?
I agree that under the table low wages depress wages for lower income and some middle income Americans. That is at the heart of their anger at politicians and government.
We need to raise wages so that workers have a legitimate shot at the American Dream. (Requiring employers to verify their workers’ legal status would be an easy first step.)
At the same time, it is important to know who are these 7 million Americans who have dropped out of the labor market? Would they look for work if more $22+/hr. jobs were available? Do they have the physical ability and skills to perform those better paying jobs? How many legal immigrants do we need to fill the jobs Americans can’t fill.
A British writer had the best term for what's happening:" Human Quantitative Easing". Import labor to keep wages low, and some firms will be able to keep going, for a while at least.
Excellent article; Although cheap labor has been touted as a way to keep prices low and businesses competitive, this comment advocates for a reevaluation of that model. The goal should be to move toward an economy that invests in higher-quality jobs, fosters domestic production, and supports workers' long-term prosperity, rather than relying on labor strategies that may undermine the broader economic fabric.
By linking cheap labor to "economic demise," you highlight the broader consequences of this approach. The inflow of cheap labor can devalue the work done by American laborers, leaving a large portion of the population economically insecure. This creates a vicious cycle where businesses, in an effort to maintain profitability, continue to rely on cheaper, often less-skilled labor. Over time, this leads to stagnant wages, increased income inequality, and a hollowing out of middle-class jobs, which can erode the economic base of communities.
It's time for change!
The real problem behind all of it….. lack of participation in the workforce, any unwillingness to do job X, and mass immigration to which a labor market cannot properly function is wholly due to transference of wealth in the form of welfare, be it direct dollars, debit cards, housing, transportation, education, etc.
moreover, the direct dollars are thee biggest incentive to not seek out employment and for illegal immigration despite a labor market which may be shedding jobs rather than creating more than the previous day.
The state and federal govts, via politicians being in want of ever more votes to get elected, or maintain their elected positions, offer up greater and and greater amounts of money transferred from taxing people who earn compensations into the hands of those who do not, regardless of ability to earn compensations, themselves, for labors.
Most people seek to travel to the US for opportunities that exist almost nowhere else in the world.
But, there will be times, in which available opportunities via open labor shortages will be significantly limited and should suggest that the oversupply of labor would instruct workers to stay where they are or even emigrate back, or to other regions for employment opportunities.
But, welfares, in all its forms, horribly distorts the market and even incentivizes a sedentary lifestyle and not activity seeking out to be productive in a marketplace other than to consume.
Bill Clinton! wow ok?
I remember many times from different sources reading about Bill sitting dazed and looking like he was in a coma during policy table talks when he was president talking economics. Said he could care less. Let Rubin handle it - boring.
However, when subject got back to politics he was fully engaged and right into it. Leading the way.
So, economics from Bill? I don't think so...
In Canada, as an employer we got heavily fined if we hired workers not legally in the country. Moreover, unless you were legally there, your family couldn’t access education or healthcare. If you were caught, you were quickly deported. And guess what? Canada doesn’t have a problem with illegal immigration.
Awesome essay. Thank you.
Globalists all. You can't offshore housing construction, so you onshore the work force. You see a lot of that in the service industry too. Capitalists are the perfect Marxist-no country, only class. They are more honest than Marxists in appropriating all the spoils to their class where the Marxists keep pretending they aren't doing that. Hard to see how you break the cycle at this point. Perhaps a bit of populist autarchy.