China, Jobs and the GR Press: Let’s talk about everything except the problem

Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press ran a front-page story about how “some” local businesses see China as an ally and not an enemy.

The article entitled, “Seeing Red,” was framed in part as one of the one contentious aspects of the election debate, particularly between 3^rd Congressional candidates Justin Amash and Pat Miles.

First, it should be pointed out that the contention between Miles and Amash has more to do with their personal economic ties to China. Amash’s family does businesses in China and Miles until recently held a mutual fund in the Bank of China.

These personal investments, particularly that of Justin Amash are seen by some as another example of outsourcing, where US jobs are sent abroad because of cheap labor markets and minimal safety and environmental standards. What Amash and Miles have not talked about in this whole “debate over China” are trade policies nor the very nature of the neoliberal economic system much of the world operates in.

Second, the article, by Press reporter Ted Roelofs, follows a standard script about how we should view this issue. Roelofs cites local business people who argue that having factories or business ties to China is a good thing and is in fact what allows some local jobs to exist.

Then the article cites a local union organizer (and former Democratic Party chair) who says that China plays unfair and that she wishes the US government would protect “our markets.”

The union organizer is followed in the article by a corporate economist with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, who argues that if West Michigan companies want to survive they need to focus more on creating jobs that require “advanced education” instead of low-skilled labor.

The last source cited is with the furniture maker Herman Miller. Their representative says of China, “It represents a huge market opportunity for us. It would be impossible to do any kind of meaningful business if you didn’t have a presence there.” This last comment is particularly important and should tell us something about what the larger issue is in this story.

The problem is not so much about lax labor standards in places like China, or low wages or even trade practices. The issue with so many West Michigan businesses being in favor of sending jobs abroad is that it is in the nature of Capitalism to do so. Capitalism has no allegiance to countries or workers. It only has an allegiance to profits and growth.

Within a Free Market Capitalist framework it makes complete sense to seek out cheaper labor markets. This is not a new phenomenon, but one that has been hitting US-based unions hard the last 30 years.

However, since most of the unions in the US embrace Capitalism as their economic model the only argument they can make is to appeal to corporations to keep the jobs “American.” This suggests that companies like Bissell, Haworth and Wolverine World Wide have some allegiance to this country. Of course, these companies will use the local, state and federal systems when it suits their interests (tax breaks, subsidies, labor laws, etc), but their ultimate allegiance is to profits and shareholders. This is exactly why the quote from the Herman Miller representative was so important because it underscored the bottom line, which is expanding markets.

The claim made by the UAW organizer that China plays unfair is true at some level, but it fails to acknowledge that the US has had some of the most protectionist trade policies in the world. So, it’s ok for the US to subsidize farmers, which makes it difficult for farmers around the world to compete, but if other countries engage in any form of protectionism or economic incentives for businesses, then it is all of a sudden unfair.

The unions in the US should not be demonizing China, they should be building alliances with Chinese workers. If the unions in the US wanted to keep jobs in this country they should engage in factory occupations as a tactic instead of providing millions of dollars to Democratic candidates who embrace Capitalism as much as the Republicans do.

The elections are tomorrow and no matter who wins the issue of jobs and a failing economy will still be a major problem unless more people are willing to seriously examine the economic system we operate in. Yesterday’s Press article is just another example of their unwillingness to foster such an examination.