Where are the jobs?

Everyone seeking the 2012 Presidency (including Obama) keep promising more jobs. The real question is where will these jobs come from. While praising the success of GM’s recovery from bankruptcy and the rise to the number 1 auto manufacturer, there is this reality: GM has closed thirteen plants in the US since 2009 but opened fifteen plants in China. While everyone looks at the innovations of Steve Jobs, Steve’s jobs (no pun intended) are being filled by Chinese workers not American workers. There is an effort on the part of American CEOs to continue the exodus of jobs offshore for a number of reasons. The first of these reasons involves anti-union efforts. By reducing available American jobs, unions cannot afford to threaten strikes or other leverage seeing as how there are an estimated four potential hires to replace every union employee. Unions are being forced to accept lower wage and benefit packages to keep jobs in this country. There is another reason for jobs going off-shore and that is CEO/Executive greed. Most business models were based on the relationship of CEO compensation being 40 times that of the lowest employee. However, starting in the 80s, that relationship changed until today, CEO compensation is over 400 times the lowest paid worker. The additional funds to pay the CEO and other executives had to come from somewhere as business was not increasing at anywhere near the rate of CEO compensation. That somewhere was from compensation being paid to other workers. If jobs are shipped off-shore to facilities having far lower labor rates, moneys formerly paid to domestic employees can now be diverted to the bosses. If, and when jobs might return to the US, those newly returned jobs are at lower pay rates with fewer benefits than when they left our shores thus again providing an opportunity for CEOs and bosses to rake in a higher proportion of earnings. So, the answer to the question, where are the jobs can be found in earnings reports of major corporations. Just look at the growth of executive compensation compared to the decline in non-executive compensation over the past 30 years and your question is answered.