Why Are Americans So Jealous and Protective of their Jobs?

[Exarch]

It's always been a baffling aspect of american culture which i have never really understood;
Anyone who's ever had to apply for a long term student visa to the US has to demonstrate they've got the $$$ in the bank so they won't go about finding work in the states and an american mate of mine once told me that 'we (americans) feel about our jobs the way some countries feel about their women' ie with jealousy and possessiveness.

so please explain to me why popular american sentiment against 'foreigners taking our jerrrbs' is such a core theme in the american national psyche.

and why is it certain jobs that are always considered 'protected' ie manufacturing or engineering, or service jobs, whereas other industries like acting are less so.

for eg, i don't see americans having the same passion against australian actors taking american jobs than they would with a foreign country taking a factory job.

[Jaketh]

because

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

we dont want you taking our jerbs

[Dr. Oza]

because after ww2 .. all of america's industrial rivals were destroyed (uk, france, germany, japan) and so american industry dominated and americans enjoyed a standard of living that they had never enjoyed before and so they began to feel entititled to that standard.. but when germany and japan rebuilt and their electronics and cars ended up being better than ours for the most part.. and as the international community began to advance economically.. our dominance slowly began to fade

also u can see america through the traditional Rostow's model




america is at the end of that chain and a bit past that as well.. meaning that our economy has shifted from traditional manufactoring and heavy industry to a service and consumption based model... meaning that jobs that involve high educated individuals exchanging highly specialized services has become the route to success (think spinal ortho surgeon ,etcc) ...

so people who used to work in the rust belt and made cars, or clothes, or etc... are in a pickle since our cost of living and general economic advancement makes their jobs and way of live precariously endangered..

and so.. they get scared, quite naturally, and blame this macro-economic shift on foreigners that "TAKE THURRR JORRBBS!!!!"


which is true since you can say that places like china or india are at the stage where mass-production and heavy industry is the route to economic success..

[Imperial]

america is at the end of that chain and a bit past that as well.. meaning that our economy has shifted from traditional manufactoring and heavy industry to a service and consumption based model... meaning that jobs that involve high educated individuals exchanging highly specialized services has become the route to success (think spinal ortho surgeon ,etcc) ...

so people who used to work in the rust belt and made cars, or clothes, or etc... are in a pickle since our cost of living and general economic advancement makes their jobs and way of live precariously endangered..

This.

I.T. is the future. The people that are complaining are almost all manufacturing workers. I can sympathize with most of them since the majority of them are too old/too poor to go back to school and too young for retirement. Some complaints are legitimate because of illegal workers and companies hiring them for less then minimum wage which lowers the standard of living for everyone.

I haven't heard much complaining nowadays, which leads me to believe that people are understanding the economy shift.

[B5C]

This.

I.T. is the future. The people that are complaining are almost all manufacturing workers. I can sympathize with most of them since the majority of them are too old/too poor to go back to school and too young for retirement. Some complaints are legitimate because of illegal workers and companies hiring them for less then minimum wage which lowers the standard of living for everyone.

I haven't heard much complaining nowadays, which leads me to believe that people are understanding the economy shift.

Yet some are still pissed that companies are still moving plants from the US too cheaper places in Mexico and China. Some companies are just in for themselves and not for America.

[Nevins]

Yet some are still pissed that companies are still moving plants from the US too cheaper places in Mexico and China. Some companies are just in for themselves and not for America.

Well, duh. They are a business first and Americans second.

[Phier]

Service and engineering are protected jobs?

Basically only the union jobs or jobs that require a license would be in that category.

[Exarch]

Service and engineering are protected jobs?

Basically only the union jobs or jobs that require a license would be in that category.

protected in the sense that they are one of many other industries where US politicians play the 'migrants are taking our jerbs' card when it's election yr.

[Imperial]

protected in the sense that they are one of many other industries where US politicians play the 'migrants are taking our jerbs' card when it's election yr.

Immigrants are taking engineering jobs? Source?

[Count of Montesano]

It's actually a lot easier to immigrate to the US than it is to a lot of other countries. I have friends who work in the UK, France, and Japan. It's pretty tough for a non-EU citizen to immigrate to the UK or France. It's nearly impossible to become a naturalized citizen in Japan, even if you have a college degree, speak the language fluently, and are married to a citizen (the situation my friend is in).

As far as job protection goes, Americans SHOULD be protective of jobs, as should every other country. IMHO trade agreements like NAFTA and trade organizations like the WTO don't always take into account the situation for average workers. The gorilla in the room in terms of illegal immigration from Mexico to America is that NAFTA essentially destroyed the livelihood of subsistence farmers, who were forced to migrate north.

[Viking Prince]

The OP has created a bit of a strawman with his example. If you are applying to be a student, why is having a job a part of the question? I suspect the same is true in pretty much all of the developed world.

btw -- some foreign students are allowed to work. It does depend on the visa you apply for. Granted the F-1 resticts work to the campus, but you are a fulltime student so I cannot see that as being unreasonable.

[Exarch]

The OP has created a bit of a strawman with his example. If you are applying to be a student, why is having a job a part of the question? I suspect the same is true in pretty much all of the developed world.

the strawman was simply an illustration to demonstrate how serious the attitude of the USG in protecting domestic jobs is, in direct contrast with practices of US business sometimes with USG complicity, in moving industry jobs overseas.

i see a lot of hate and anger from american workers (who've been made redundant) at other countries for 'taking our jerbs' but i see little of that passion and vitriol directed towards company owners and firms for moving those jobs elsewhere and i almost never see that political passion translate into anything more than venting and tough words.

perhaps the competition for jobs in the US is pretty tough and has always been notwithstanding present economic conditions-

some other ppl say 'other countries are like that'
well yes and no,
take australia for eg, we don't nearly have enough workers for certain industries (mainly in the rural areas) so foreign ppls applying for work while they're holidaying in oz can always find employment.

finally, when ppl moan about 'other countries/ppl' taking our jerbs' chances are most ppl growing up in america are unwilling to work in those factory/manufacturing/low wage industries. when was the last time you heard a kid say 'i wanna work in a factory when i grow up'? this aint the 1930s anymore.

bringing those manufacturing jobs back to america would mean that in order to stay competitive with the low cost workers of the developing world, americans would have to accept lower pay comparable to their foreign counterparts.
does anyone seriously believe that's going to happen?

what most ppl dont seem to realise when they and moan about products being made in the developing world is that the low labour costs of making those products maintains the relatively high living standard we enjoy here in the west. if they and moan about that, they'll probably and moan all the louder for paying quintuple the price for their laptop/mp4/nike shoes etc

[Gromovnik]

Most countries require some kind of proof that you can support yourself during your visit before issuing you a visa.

[Dr. Croccer]

The honest answer is because Americans have steadily been stopping making stuff that people want since the 60s. Like Sipahizade said, the US has shifted from a manufacturing state which exports to others to a heavily consumptive one themselves. The resurrection of European and Asian industry meant a sharp decline in many domestic US industries, hence why protectionist attitude is alive and kicking.

[Thorn777]

^We do the same...its about costs primarily, not quality or demand.

@OP

Dunno, I guess because it makes them unemployed and poor. lol at that stupid blue-collar people with their needs...

[Ulyaoth]

Dunno, I guess because it makes them unemployed and poor. lol at that stupid blue-collar people with their needs...

Just like this op's question, this topic is stupid for having taken so long to say the obvious. People need ing jobs to live quite obviously. I'm sure all the socialists think that the government should pay people not to work so the immigrants can take the now lower paying jobs still left to be done, but it's just not a reasonable thing to expect a country to last forever paying people not to work.

[Thorn777]

Just like this op's question, this topic is stupid for having taken so long to say the obvious. People need ing jobs to live quite obviously. I'm sure all the socialists think that the government should pay people not to work so the immigrants can take the now lower paying jobs still left to be done, but it's just not a reasonable thing to expect a country to last forever paying people not to work.

I dunno, but "the socialist" over here and unions where usually the only ones having objections against these immigration practices. It certainly where policy's and deregulation measures stemming from the rightwing. Not that "socialists" don't bare co-responsibility for obliging to much over the years...

Also in the US its bi-partisan. Under Bush Jr it really took flight, and on one hand I do sympathize with democrat policy's to then at least get them healthcare and what not, since otherwise it would maintain a second-class citizenry that can keep being exploited, which is equally bad for everyone else in the US workingclass who now have to compete with abused illegals who are just much cheaper and easier manipulated for employers that way. When the illegals just like Chinese workers in China become more demanding its benefiting and putting less pressure on the US workers...so in that regard I agree with the "socialist fairy's". Still this mass economic immigration itself needs to stop, but its a problem that needs solving from various angles.

I imagine it'd be easier for me to get a job in America than it would be for someone outside of the EU to get a job in Fortress Europe. That said, companies exist to make money for whoever owns them. I don't understand people's resentment or feeling of entitlement regarding outsourcing labour. As others said, it cheapens it for the consumer, which is us.

Sucks though when you loose your job or receive less pay because of it here, or live in a country like Indonesia where corrupt dictators and their cronies sold their country literally to the international corporate world, who destroyed their whatever they had of a domestic-market trough retracting capital simultaneously and then poring back in simultaneously, which got them 30+% unemployment with a massive labor force willing to work for the minimum-wage of a $ a day.

Still those Nike Air Max cost 150 bucks just like before...enjoy them.

[Turtle Hammer]

I dunno, but "the socialist" over here and unions where usually the only ones having objections against these immigration practices. It certainly where policy's and deregulation measures stemming from the rightwing. Not that "socialists" don't bare co-responsibility for obliging to much over the years...

Also in the US its bi-partisan. Under Bush Jr it really took flight, and on one hand I do sympathize with democrat policy's to then at least get them healthcare and what not, since otherwise it would maintain a second-class citizenry that can keep being exploited, which is equally bad for everyone else in the US workingclass who now have to compete with abused illegals who are just much cheaper and easier manipulated for employers that way. When the illegals just like Chinese workers in China become more demanding its benefiting and putting less pressure on the US workers...so in that regard I agree with the "socialist fairy's". Still this mass economic immigration itself needs to stop, but its a problem that needs solving from various angles.


Sucks though when you loose your job or receive less pay because of it here, or live in a country like Indonesia where corrupt dictators and their cronies sold their country literally to the international corporate world, who destroyed their whatever they had of a domestic-market trough retracting capital simultaneously and then poring back in simultaneously, which got them 30+% unemployment with a massive labor force willing to work for the minimum-wage of a $ a day.

Still those Nike Air Max cost 150 bucks just like before...enjoy them.

I'm pretty sure I've never owned anything as ridiculously overpriced as nike air max. But I do own several shirts from Asda, which were incredibly cheap due in no small part to their origin. Yes, Indonesia was sold out to the corporate world, but by it's government. Unlike private companies, governments do have a responsibility to protect jobs and wages.

The same can't be demanded of privately owned companies. If you owned a company that manufactured electronics, and you can make them for £80 a unit domesticly, or even with importing them and paying the extra tax on them, you can do it for £30 abroad, which would you do?

[strategist.com]

Ironic when you consider history that they took the lands from native Americans!

[Imperial]

Ironic when you consider history that they took the lands from native Americans!

We didn't take any lands. Those lands were already ours to begin with according to the manifest destiny.