‘Economic Recovery?‘ Check Out This Graph on American ’Sweatshops’
- Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:22pm by
Becket Adams
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Okay, so you’ve heard all about those “better than expected” jobs numbers and you’re starting to wonder whether President Obama’s economic policies have actually been “successful.”
So here’s something to consider, via Zero Hedge:
…as discussed previously, the rising jobs are purely a quantity over quality trade off, as every month more and more temp jobs take the place of permanent ones, especially those of former professionals from the FIRE sector.
In fact, in January temp jobs soared by the most on record, and the total number of temp workers was just shy of all time highs.
While this happened, online retail companies saw the stock prices soar. You know why?
“One of the primary drivers for this has been the increased ‘efficiency’ at these companies’ hubs – their warehouses,” the Hedge explains, “Which just happen to be staffed with temp workers.”
And although Zero Hedge’s description of the info graphic below may be a tad overdramatic (“sweatshop,” really?), it does make an interesting point about all those “great jobs” that have been added to the economy.
“[T]his is the ‘quality’ of job that is rising rapidly in the current economy (at the expense of traditional permanent jobs) to give the impression of an economic recovery,” the Hedge notes.
“There is no point in making an ethical judgment – work conditions are as they are,” Zero Hedge writes.
“Just as workers at FoxConn likely have far better conditions than their peers, at least in their view, so do these temp workers view their life as better than the alternative, which is unemployment. It is, as they say, what it is.”
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Comments (54)
DarthMims
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 11:48amGood points, here, but did anyone notice that the thumbnail picture to this story is the closing scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? I guess warehouse pictures are hard to come by.
Report Post »BarackStalin
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 2:19pmWe’re all chinamen now…
Report Post »chronique
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 3:39pmBureaucratic fools!!!! They have no idea how to select appropriate stock photos! …actually, I only clicked on this story because of the Raiders screenshot. How lame of them to use that.
Report Post »SK-1
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 6:00pmVery astute observation. I would have missed that.
Report Post »RodT82721
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 11:31amSee how great it has become, since our govt has taken control of almost everything?
There was a time in the not so recent past, when a citizen could strike out their own, with nothing more then an idea, and turn that into a working business.
Report Post »In the case of a few really talented folks like Bill Gates, Jobs, they turned their ideas and work ethic into major corporations, providing thousands of jobs for the less talented.
But since our govt have taken over, protecting it’s citizens from evil doers, self employment is frowned on almost as much as non-union.
The govt has issued (and continues to issue) regulation on top of regulations, to ‘protect’ us from the evil business owner(s).
There’s an ad on TV about ‘Susie’s Lemonade’. What a joke that ad is, now even the John Stossel and the staff of Fox Business, could not overcome the regulations, to set up a lemonade stand in NYC.
This is the part of that ‘transformation’ Barry promised – all the whining we are hearing comes from our progressive (union run) education system.
Now graduates expect to start at the top, then retire.
llleslie
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 10:27amWow! Really!?! WAAAAAAHH! Are we now a nation of whiners & complainers? It’s called work! Take a look at EMS/Fire personnel – they have unbelievably long hours, all weather conditons, machinery/environmental hazards you can’t begin to imagine, health risks – well yeah!, emotional toll – definitely. And they do it for the job. They do it for you! So deal with it! And just an FYI on the info in that chart – OSHA can and will shut you down – they don’t JUST provide “safety guidelines”!
Report Post »Bluntobj
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 11:52amEMS/Fire personnel have pay, pension, health, and work contracts that are jaw dropping. That’s full ride medical, contract specified work rules, deferred comp matches, defined pension plans, and pay scales that start around $20+ per hour. Not to mention vacation/sick/comp time, accrual cashouts, etc.
EMS/ Fire people don’t have much to complain about. As for warehouse workers, this reads more like “Grapes of Wrath” to me. It’s a great example of why teaching your kids how to avoid getting in that position in the first place, and wise planning on your part to ensure that you don’t have to work their either is priority number one these days.
Report Post »Rocky_Top
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:26pmMy job puts me in Amazon. I work with these people. The average age of the workers is somewhere around 19. How can I say this nicely ? Lets start with the cell phones. Did you know that you can do just about anything on a cell phone? You can’t get them to do any work if they have a cell phone. They text each other while talking to you with there phone in a pocket. The next thing is theft. They watch them like a hawk and they will steal everything they can. I do not see any abused workers, just a bunch of kids working jobs without a future. These are not good jobs and in most cases they are not good workers either. If they were good workers they would work down the street at the auto factory. The auto factory is still looking for skilled or trainable workers.
Report Post »Rocky_Top
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:48pm@Bluntobj I think that many if not most of the workers at amazon are college educated. I also work at many of the colleges. What good is a college education if you do not or can not use it? When I was a kid I was told that If I do not get an education I will be digging ditches for minimum wage, ( hard work low pay) Well they were wrong. Ditch digging is good money. Few people now have the knowledge, health or work ethics to dig a ditch. I know ditch diggers that make more money than Nurses. I am a hard working blue collar worker that makes much more than a RN. If Obama gets his way and sends everyone to college I am going to be a rich man. We need more skilled labor not college education.
Report Post »llleslie
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 3:32pmto: BLUNTOBJ
Report Post »I am in EMS and you are wrong. Most EMS and fire in this country are NOT union. Maybe those in major cities get what you spout – go check your local service. $10-$12 per hour, 10-24 hr shifts, no pension, basic 2 weeks vacation IF full time after the first year of service. No full ride medical. And again, nothing compares to what they do daily. Rain, sleet, snow, extreme heat, floods, tornadoes, etc. Car accidents, shootings, drug scenes, fires. And I NEVER said they complain. That was the point. Also, many EMS personnel also do VOLUNTEER fire.
Seede
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 10:04amMuch of this is due to the unions. A guy works his butt off and builds a company of some value. The union comes along and unionizes these employees with promises of more free stuff. Now where do you think the free stuff is going to come from? From the guy who owns the company? The employer soon finds himself with limited power to run the company or even to get rid of the free loaders. What does the employer do? Most get nasty and don’t give a hoot anymore and simply run it down into the ground knowing that their retirement is near. No more long term planning because actually they can’t run the company that they are supposed to own. Don’t blame all employers because of bad employers. There are good employers too. All employees are not good employees any more than all employers are bad employers.
Report Post »bllbundy
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:32amI do this job now, we work 10 hours a day,12 when the workload requires it. It is in an environment 20 below zero some spots colder, we work 40 to 60 hours a week depending on the season.
I have been a perment enployee for 11 years, and we have all races. Every year during of busy time we hire alot of temps, with many of them who will quit the job on the first week, it take a special type of person to do this job. Those that stay till the slow season get offered full time at 20 dollars an hour, and in iowa that is good pay, over 50,000 a year, over the median income in the us.
I am tired of people that sit at desk and dont know what actual physical work is.
Report Post »NeverWas
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:20amRead Rich Dad, Poor Dan and the Millionaire Next Door. It’s extremely challenging to be successful working for others, you must have a side business to go along with your J.O.B.! Colleges churn out employees instead of entrepreneurs. As for poor working conditions described here, the same conditions can be found in call centers-but employees sit instead of stand or walk. At least standing or walking won’t cripple your back. The poor pay is offered because companies can get away with it. These jobs used to be held by illegal aliens or for extra income.
Report Post »florida123
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:46amThe rest of the story is that these people are paid so little they qualify for Food Stamps and Medicaid. How do you like supplying The Big Retalers employees with food, shelter and medical benefits. Ever check out Walmarts Balance Sheet? Who is reaping the benefits here? Who is sucking on the Taxpayers? Gross Gross Gross
Report Post »spydrman669
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:38amIf you mean getting $16 in FS is qualifying you are right.
Report Post »shogun459
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:49amActually no they don’t.
I work in the hotel industry for $8 hr no OT no Raises in 4 years and we don’t qualify for any aid.
Report Post »But it beats being unemployed and begging Obama for food.
spydrman669
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:41amI have been both a business owner and more times than not, an employee. Hate being an employee, never knowing if, “ today is the day I get cut”. Many of the problems with modern employment is that you are disposable. With illegals, ignorant workers, lower than life wages, in company politics, being self employed is really the answer. Problem is two fold. One, Gov regulations are set up for BIG BUSINESS not small, I can not even afford a lawyer to get the proper paperwork ( which, depending on the business, is HUGE). Two, peers think that “ making your own job” lacks ambition, drive or what ever, even if you are “surviving”. I do not need or want cra* loads of money, but I really like eating regularly as well as heat and electricity, Even if it is a hard job at least you have no fear of “ we have to let you go”. No politics, racism, sexism. Now a days can you even have a yard sale without getting a stop by the local gestapo to check to see you collect sales tax? Or better yet getting a letter from the town ( cease and desist). Can’t grow vegetables, can’t harvest trees, cut grass, and so on and so on. Even barter is getting harder, trading a bushel or three of produce will not pay your mortgage or keep the lights on. If you ask the “state” for help and you barter thru life you get no help.” Why, you must be a criminal if you are surviving without a job”, so expect a visit from the gestapo( again), to rectally check for your papers. Freedom my ass!
Report Post »JackSprat
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:42amGee, work is a 4-letter word!
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:17amI agree. If this country is headed the way I think it is (and I fought communism during the cold war with Russia), the ones on the government teat better sit up and take notice. Do some research. China doesn’t have a welfare system, no pensions, no sick time. You get stuff if you work. If you‘re in a poor village and don’t have a job, the government might give you a free fishing net or bamboo starter to have a means to work, but they don’t give you free stuff. Obama is using the poor to get votes because he figures they’ll vote for the one who promises them more free stuff. The money will run out.
Report Post »John_The_Beloved
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:00amOn That Health Risks, one item is left out that is Insulin reaction (low blood sugar) due to extreme heat in hot weather and body of the daibetic fighting to keep itself cool. Trust me, been there done that. Boss got smart with me saying I was drinking (coke cola) sugar drink on the job, I told him off,” Either I do this and keep working or you can call an ambulance to carry my butt off.”
Report Post »sbenard
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 5:57amAs of two weeks ago, the Federal Treasury had taken in $8.6 billion LESS, year-to-date, than in 2011. This is NOT the sign of a jobs recovery!
Worse yet, payroll tax receipts to the Federal Treasury are also DOWN for 2012 vs. 2011. It is impossible for payroll taxes to be DOWN if employment is better.
This all part of the campaign machine of the Propaganda President, Emperor Obama!
Report Post »burdenedsoul
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 7:03pmooh, I have an idea. What if we all took it upon our selves to make our own jobs. Naw, that is just un-American. What was I thinking.
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 8:09pmYou mean like the little girls who got their lemonaid stands shut down? Or the amish who got raided for selling fresh milk?
Report Post »LouC57
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 6:47pmOy! Not good.
Report Post »I have one piece of advice for anyone willing to listen. Never work for salary–you are a slave if you do, and you do not get paid for all the hours you work.
BenzinVasser
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 6:01pmBill…..Hum..How do I put this, your comment, “Less complaining and more working”. You must be one of those dick head employers that want to work someone into the ground and pay nothing. I work for one of those..Day ends @1630, @1625, “Hey Benzin, I need you to stay late and do this” If I don‘t work at least 55 hours a week I’m a piece of crap and not putting my fair share in, even when very few do. A regular occurrence. The only reason I am not at my last job is due to the fact it went under, they say due to fuel prices and the inability to acquire loans to keep moving…..A degree and a decade of hydraulic and fabrication experience, my last job paid 8 dollars more an hour and I was treated with respect. The problem with employers now days, is, they know they have you bent over a barrel and instead of being part of the solution they become evil and part of the problem and take advantage of you. I like my family and like to see them, and folks like me would like the respect they deserve and not treated like a piece of property. Oh, and Bill, I was not over paid at my last job, I was in charge of making all of the prototypes, and yes I could get better if I moved, but my family is here and I live with the pay, I excepted it…but respect and fairness is very important. No one likes to be taken advantage of and that is what employers are doing right now, because they know they can.
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 6:16pmWell said! Amen.
Report Post »LouC57
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 6:52pmBenzinVasser, I so understand. “It’s an 8–5 job!” she said. Uh, no, it’s really 8am to 10 or 11 pm job, without compensation for the extra hours.
Report Post »burdenedsoul
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 7:17pmYeah that is the downside of Capitalism, but how much of this negativity really exist because we are no longer a pure capitalist nation. Boss’s would not have the level of control that they do if the people that worked under them still had the freedom to call it quits without having to worry about financial ruin and even death. Then there is the effect that the entitlement class is having on everything. Every time they decide that it is their “right” to have something the government grants it to them at the expense of our overall freedom. Companies and their owners are reactive in nature, they adapt to everything that is changing or they fail. In a thriving capitalist nation only those that bring it upon themselves end up suffering. I think that what people are experiencing at work is merely a symptom of a much larger problem. I for one don’t feel free anymore, and that is not just about what I experience at work.
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 8:25pmBurdenedsoul said: “ negativity really exist because we are no longer a pure capitalist nation”.
Report Post »I agree 100%! I don’t feel free anymore as I once did..but maybe we need to get ready for the last part of the book. If we still had a true Capitalist nation we wouldn’t be feeling the heavy burdens of taxes and government regulations run-a-mok. I feel like the soul has been sucked out of America. Life is worthless and meaningless in the eyes of so many-no respect for God , people, or country…Get ready, there’s going to be change soon…there has to be…somethings gotta give and it wont be pretty for many. “If God is for us, who then can be against us?”
spydrman669
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:43amI feel your pain brother!
Report Post »Cat
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:53amBen & Burden >
We had better change the bigger boss wannabe, STAT
We are being forced to our knees and beg, our we will be killed
That crap has got to stop, now
He’s headed straight for a dictatorship faster then we type these words
Recall the condition of Mussolini, after he ruined Italy
Report Post »Guessing Barry skipped that history class
frenchi55
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:25amFor what I can see you look more than qualified why don‘t you try to start your own business in your field and see what it’s like to walk in the other guy’s shoes and comment after that to let us know how you like the crap that our governement local, state and federal that we have to deal with not including making sure we keep our client happy etc and I am not including the fact that when you finally are ready to start you work 60 to 70 hours a week just to make sure you pay the Co bills sometime with no money left for yourself.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 4:06pmWork is HARD and NOT FUN! What happened to the Stick of Starvation and the Carrot of Wages?
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 6:03pmAs I said; Hard work is good and I enjoy hard work-but the difference is in the old days the guys at the top treated workers with respect and dignity, just as human beings. There is so much greed at the top now they are treating Americans as third world slaves. I don’t like Chinese or Cubans being treated this way and neither should Americans! When they start orchestrating when and If you can go to the bathroom…thats a problem (I have worked in those medical sweatshops that time your every move-literally). Let people use they’re creativities to get the job done in a timely manner and review their productivity every few months, if they aren’t cutting it, let them go…but please let people be individuals who are all different, creative, and hard workers. This kind of tyranny frustrates and discourages people. Remember when you were in school and you wanted to work really hard for the kind, thoughtful teacher? But the one who was a hard-arse not so much?
Report Post »Remember Glenn Becks show about how they are trying to make us all bricks instead of us being individuals? Im not explaining it very well…but it was so good and so true.
Cat
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:58amHow about working smart?
Report Post »Start with smaller government then ‘work’ it from there …
Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 3:15pmMeantime Government bureaucracies are commandeering more office space…
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 2:17pmOf course the elites in government and Big corporations are going to do everything they can not to let the little guy have his own business because nobody would choose this slave labor over having a little business of his own. This isn’t freedom. They create the sucky conditions and we have to live within them? We are hamsters in a cage my friends!
Report Post »piper60
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:51pmThis describes the conditions at my last warehouse job—–and I was a permanent worker.
Report Post »Billis820
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:51pmI’m sick and tired of people complaining about “harsh working conditions” and unfair treatment. Most people have worked in a crappy job with mean bosses, and felt overworked for the pay. You can either suck it up and wait until something better comes along, or you can quit. People should spend less time complaining and more time working.
Report Post »spydrman669
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:36amBillis820
Report Post »I was taught the “dream” of working for a company,doing my job, maybe even advancing, putting a little away, then retiring. Now, no retirement, just 401k or IRA, all taxable, all at risk, and if you look cross eyed at someone at work you get sued (excuse me, fired, the company has no time for anyone, you are VERY replaceable). Not to mention the “ holy employer” refuses to pay real wages to keep good, intelligent, hardworking help. Why pay John $15 an hour when Horhey will do the same work for $5. ( Without taxes, without government, without bitching by people who just want to pay there bills). I for one am tired of working my ass off only to be “laid off”, because it would be cheaper to hire new, young and dumb with no real work ethic or desire to stay. Please check out these “ difficult ” jobs and you will find mostly adults with education, who just need to pay their bills. Goto Mcdonalds, you find no kids, just 30 to 60 year olds who were discarded by various companies because it was cheaper to cut them lose and pay a newbie 1/4 the pay, regardless of how much that employee dedicated there life to the company. “ Suck it up” is not the answer, in fact doing so will only perpetuate the “disposable employee”. I have had many a job that I “sucked it up” only to be replaced when I was “used up”. Did the sucking it up pay my morgage, feed me , pay to fix my car, NO! most people are paid too little to get by or to much to get help.
searching for the Truth
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:46pmMade in China!
Report Post »MommyNeedsMoreCoffee
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:45pmSound like whiners to me…the world is changing, retail is changing…these are clearly entry level jobs, and we’ve all had them. Work hard, show on time, and you’ll move up. BTW, take a look at the source of the graph.
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:44pmEver seen the pace a Unionized UPS worker has to keep up?
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:41pmWow, where are all those temp jobs for me? I’ve been registered with AppleOne, Robert Half Technology for ages and had one temp where I worked 3 months and one that just recently withdrew the job. Must be in a different part of the country.
Report Post »ChildofJesus
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:33pmthis is our future…God have mercy.
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 1:39pmThat Hopey Changey is really working out for us, huh?
This wouldn’t fly very far if there were better jobs available. It’s simply employers knowing that most people would work anywhere before working nowhere.
I’m at a job that gives breaks, but only one 10 minute break per four hours worked. Oh- and if you work 11 1/2 hours, you don’t get the third break. Talk about screwy rules.
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on March 22, 2012 at 2:14pmGod help us is right! We are turning into China. I don’t mind the hard work..
Report Post »Hard work? No problem. What I don’t like is the “slave mentality” and not treating people as human beings. In my generation I saw it happen. Not too long ago things were NOT this way. We are letting these Big corporations mixed with government take over the world for the worse!
If the regulations weren’t so bad that the little guy could have a chance to have his own business that would be nice but they clearly want us to have a NWO run by a handfull of big corporations and government and frankly it sucks.
miketype1each
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 2:57amGIRLNURSE, I couldn’t have said it better. The natural love people should have for one another is nearly gone. At a place I worked once, the reputation of the floor manager was such that I never, ever wanted to talk to her. I quit before that happened, but not because of her, but because of the lousy conditions: Soldering gases venting indoors rather than outside; the old, out-dated equipment; and the broken/non-existent HVAC system.
There simply is no warmth anywhere. The love of God has waxed cold, and I can only imagine the thrill of life on earth when Christ returns to run it.
Report Post »