Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Big Three Wages Again

The trustworthy and honorable Felix Salmon says that the $70-an hour meme is bollox. I bought it (link); if Salmon is right, then I am wrong. But it seems to me the bedrock issue--which Salmon does not address--is how the Big Three package compares to the Asian upstarts. So, how do they compare? Are they on a par, one with another? I doubt it--and if not, the original argument still has traction, even if the particular number is wrong.

Update: Also a good comment thread, although (virtually) no attention to the "comparison" issue, which is the one that interests me.

1 comment:

The New York Crank said...

"the bedrock issue--which Salmon does not address--is how the Big Three package compares to the Asian upstarts. So, how do they compare? Are they on a par, one with another? "

My God, I hope not! The objective of a free world economy ought to be to lift living standards, not to lower them.

One might as well inquire as to the cost of wages at Buchenwald vs. here today.

Yours very crankily,
The New York Crank