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US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

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Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#83
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

shrug enjoy paying more taxes for your consumption, I guess.

Yes, I do want to pay more to bolster my country's domestic workforce vs subsidizing corporate shareholders and offshore workers, while also having that come out of corporate profits. shrug

I hate to break it to you, but corporate profits are rarely affected. They just pass on the costs of the tax directly to the consumer.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#85
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually its easy if you're a multinational. You invest outside the United States.

The US needs an offshoring tax. If you want to sell to Americans you also need to hire Americans.

Trump has made the idea of mafioso politics popular -- where you hold everyone hostage until they do what you want -- but that doesn't actually mean that it's good policy.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My hotter take: we're in an economic death spiral. There isn't enough juice that can be squeezed short of mass wealth redistribution to reinvigorate the economy, and what is out there is locked up in stocks that don't translate to revenue. Slashing rates will just skyrocket prices and over inflate our monetary supply, and further tax cuts will only whittle away what's left of government services and social safety net…

My even hotter take: This was always the inevitable result of shareholder capitalism. The only outcomes left are either unchecked descent into fascism as oligarchs consolidate power and finish their government takeover before their current power base falls apart, or a successful socialist revolution. This is what it's always been leading to.

>This was always the inevitable result of shareholder capitalism.

Just capitalism. There's no actual or necessary distinction about what shape that capitalism takes.

A system where getting more money means you have more opportunity to generate more money by itself has all the feedback loop you need to consolidate over time, generate monopolies, and end up here.

Competition just doesn't happen in a free market. Actually competing, and trying to win marketshare or mindshare that way is too expensive, as there are much simpler and cheaper ways to impact a market.

Competition requires a fair market. This was fully understood by both Roosevelt trust busters, and both Teddy and FDR made big talk about "I'm not trying to kill business, I just want them to compete because that's such a force multiplier".

It doesn't take a socialist revolution. All it takes is like a gentle sprinkling of welfare and a fair and competitive market.

Granted, we have a lot of work to make the current market competitive. We've allowed so much consolidation that we would probably have to actively break up companies, we would have to nullify lots of contracts and IP rights and reduce the power a EULA can hold over you. Interoperability is necessary for competitive markets so we would have to roll back the DMCA anti-circumvention language. Improved customer rights would also help.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#87
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually its easy if you're a multinational. You invest outside the United States.

The US needs an offshoring tax. If you want to sell to Americans you also need to hire Americans.

Anyone will tell you I'm not a regulations guy, but there's definitely a problem. When you watch these rounds of seemingly coordinated, sweeping layoffs, followed by H-1B hiring sprees, it's hard to pretend.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#89

It makes sense that you wouldn't hire in such an uncertain environment. We have a President using emergency powers to affect sweeping, unpredictable, consequential changes to the economy that can dramatically alter unit economics overnight and completely tank a previously viable business. Within this calendar year, the President's ability to do this may be upended by pending court cases, an election, or both. Followi…

Doesn't every president do that, just to do different industries?

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