Robert Oak's blog

Saturday Reads Around the Internets - It Pays to Do Your Homework

shocknews Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly finds that made our eyes pop.

 

Whole Foods - Made in China

Spending $8 bucks a pound for organic grapes? Think again. This video report shows Grocery chain Whole Foods so called organic foods are actually imported from China. Check out what happens with organic inspection and certification when food is imported.

It Is Over! Thank God!

dweedledum$13 million, 13 debates which said ...oops....I can't remember what was said, media black outs on some candidates, talking pundits ad nauseum and 6 months later, the Iowa caucuses are finally over. Thank God! 122,255 people decided who to pick in the Republican Iowa caucuses. That's about one hundred dollars per vote. The millions in spending bought actually a guy who had the least amount of money.

The Obligatory Economic Predictions for 2012

labrea tar pitA new year, a new day and a flurry of economic and financial predictions. Who are we to buck the trend? Yet, buck the trend we shall. While many news articles claim jobs will appear in 2012 and the economy is on the mend, uh, we don't think so. What we have is America stuck in a Labrea tar pit of bad policy and a never ending middle class head shrink.

 

The Economic Populist's Most Popular Posts of 2011

fathertimefiredIt's that time of year. As we say goodbye and good riddance to 2011, it is time to review what grabbed the most attention here at The Economic Populist. From ridiculous political tricks to protesting people, 2011 saw more of the same.

As we type out the new year, here at The Economic Populist we're forever grateful to our readers and participants who make the site happen.

China and India Really Are Cheap Labor in Manufacturing

Everybody has heard the reason manufacturing goes to China and services jobs are offshore outsourced to India is cheap labor. Well, there appears to be more than a grain of truth to this claim. The BLS maintains an international labor comparison statistics site. Manufacturing labor costs in China and India are 4% of the United States for 2009.

manufacturing costs region 2009

At the same time though, European labor costs are much more than the United States and one of the reasons Germany's economy is so strong, is their exports and manufacturing sector. Germany clearly has bucked the trend, yet the below percent change for 2009-2010 in manufacturing unit labor costs graph, shows other nations are lowering wages. The great labor arbitrage race to the bottom looks full on.

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