The great vowel shift

[Newoldstock]

I have been listening to people.
With all the foreigners imported here to do our jobs for less money its seems reasonable to listen to people speak and try and identify where they come from....

Now there is English....
And what YOU speak.

You can pick out how I speak and where I live by the Canadian rasing at the end of a sentence and my desire too use the drift U in words like boot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhZ8NQOZeo

 

[dajsnipe]

Brother, seems like the same story all over. We complain because our jobs are sent to Canada, never even occurred to me that their being outsourced from your end too.

 

[Newoldstock]

Brother, seems like the same story all over. We complain because our jobs are sent to Canada, never even occurred to me that their being outsourced from your end too.

The great reversal in job flow started several years ago.
Canadian plants began to close and move south mostly things like cars, parts, machinery, even food like cerial in boxes and Ketchup.

Some factors.
The Economy was bad in the 90s and wages went down as well as the dollar.
Jobs moved north to take advantage of the cheap labour.
Things went the other direction when US economy tanked.

Since we don't have a llot of illeagal imigranst here there is not a large pool of cheap labour to do the jobs that do not pay.
SO the gov passed some laws to import cheap labour from places like Asia and Eroup.
Go to McDonalds and odds are its a foreinger doing the job.
You can't live on the wages, but if the franchise owner owns a block of apartments he can import the workers, house them and feed them with direct deductions from their checks.
Really he doesn't have to pay them much at all at that point.
Just a little money in pocket for them to send home and deduct the rest as expenses.
They will not complain because they can be deported at the drop of a hat.

(Best example of this was the Chinese coal company that imported Chinese workers to mine. They said they ccould not hire Canadians qualified to do the work. But they required alll the workers to speak chinese as a qualification
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/23/usw-mandarin-bc-mines_n_2006898.html)

Back to the US side of things.
You have no control over your boarders....
Your actual wages and standard of living are in falling and thousands more unskilled people come in trying to get jobs.
This crush of humanity bumps up against American value of fairness you dont just dump people at a boarder crossing even if keeping them is hurting you.

The branch plant factor.
Make it on country pay tax in another.
Canadian branch plants are more expensive to run and taxes are higher here.
But this is also happening in the USA.
Mexican branch plants are cheaper and taxing in the UK for example means a much better deal if you move your offices there.

Labour, health care and enviromental law.

Unions are dead in the USA but thery still have some fight up here because of stricter laws.
These discourage investments
The medicare advantage up here is likely to disapear as Obamacare rolls on.
Once it actualy starts to make a difference and cap costs this will reduce the burdon on employers.
Up here as Medicare is weakend costs rose.
EPA rules have tightened, in Canada they went the other way.
On the one hand allowing more polution and less acountability for things like pipelines and CO2 emisions has saved buisness money its not actualy made any jobs.

Now.......
Back to my point.
I listen to the voices and try and guess where they come from.
I can pick out a Welshman from the Irish lol.
Man we have alot of Irish temp workers here now too!

 

[Havasu Dave]

Back to the US side of things.
You have no control over your boarders....
Your actual wages and standard of living are in falling and thousands more unskilled people come in trying to get jobs.

My town is chock-full of Canadians. On my street, about 50% of the homes are owned by Canadians who come down here in the Winter. Speaking with them, the exchange rate is so good, they're getting to be Snow Birds at bargain basement prices. They're not upper-income sorts, just regular folks with decent incomes.

Canadian immigration towards China has been a boon for Chinese workers and companies. But you're creating a poor class.

Not unlike American companies who have moved their entire operations overseas, NAFTA et.al. with corporate offices in Dubai (way better tax rates than Houston, Texas) who employ workers from the Republic of the Philippines, Indonesia, and lower Malaysia. No worries about unemployment tax, social security, workers compensation, or OSHA, Mining, Pollution and other safety laws that cost money.

The continued cries from American workers about foreigners stealing their jobs is inaccurate. American companies have simply opted for cheaper employees, who don't need 3.5 cars per household, 4 bedroom, 3 bath McMansions, well funded schools, meat and potatoes, smooth highways, school buses, fire departments, or low crime rates.

But hey, we can buy their shit at Wal Mart, and Ford for less than what we'd pay if we made it ourselves. :hammer:

 

[Tom S.]

My town is chock-full of Canadians...

Mine, too. They lie in the gutters in their toques and plaid mackinaw coats , drunk on maple syrup and all sticky from the spilled bottles. They yammer away with the silly raising diphthong thing and you can barely understand what they say half the time. They're taking all of our jobs and our women. Something must be done to stop this scourge from the north! :laugh:

 

[dajsnipe]

Mine, too. They lie in the gutters in their toques and plaid mackinaw coats , drunk on maple syrup and all sticky from the spilled bottles. They yammer away with the silly raising diphthong thing and you can barely understand what they say half the time. They're taking all of our jobs and our women. Something must be done to stop this scourge from the north! :laugh:

You forgot to mention... That can't seem to grasp the concept of turn signals or turning lanes :laugh:

 

[Havasu Dave]

Mine, too. They lie in the gutters in their toques and plaid mackinaw coats , drunk on maple syrup and all sticky from the spilled bottles. They yammer away with the silly raising diphthong thing and you can barely understand what they say half the time. They're taking all of our jobs and our women. Something must be done to stop this scourge from the north! :laugh:

:laugh: Well, we're their version of a trip to TJ, so what do ya expect?

 

[Newoldstock]

My town is chock-full of Canadians. On my street, about 50% of the homes are owned by Canadians who come down here in the Winter. Speaking with them, the exchange rate is so good, they're getting to be Snow Birds at bargain basement prices. They're not upper-income sorts, just regular folks with decent incomes.

Canadian immigration towards China has been a boon for Chinese workers and companies. But you're creating a poor class.

Not unlike American companies who have moved their entire operations overseas, NAFTA et.al. with corporate offices in Dubai (way better tax rates than Houston, Texas) who employ workers from the Republic of the Philippines, Indonesia, and lower Malaysia. No worries about unemployment tax, social security, workers compensation, or OSHA, Mining, Pollution and other safety laws that cost money.

The continued cries from American workers about foreigners stealing their jobs is inaccurate. American companies have simply opted for cheaper employees, who don't need 3.5 cars per household, 4 bedroom, 3 bath McMansions, well funded schools, meat and potatoes, smooth highways, school buses, fire departments, or low crime rates.

But hey, we can buy their shit at Wal Mart, and Ford for less than what we'd pay if we made it ourselves. :hammer:

Ya its a mess.
The Canadians you see buying homes in the USA are not the average working people however, they are generaly better off than most.
The cost of housing has been going up and up over the years up here.
While its much more reasonable in the US.


A Honda made in Aliston sells for 5 grand less than in Canada, and its made in Canada, free trade does not mean you are free to buy where the prices are the best.
An American Honda dealer is not allowed to export a car to Canada