Are Americans lazy?

[Jason76]

This question was hinted at in another thread. Anyway, why should there be outsourcing to other nations - when tons of govt money takers - who could probably do "Chinese work" - exist in the US? I mean, what are these people doing - playing on their cell phone all day, watching TV, chatting on forums?

Not trying to offend anyone - but this is an obvious question.

 

[SoRonerly]

The short answer is no.

Just because China build a lot of stuff and send it to the USA doesnt mean the people in the USA are lazy or they cant do it.

China can build things cheaper because they have poor working conditions and wages are lower. Its a communist government who controls a lot of what is built and for how much, money can be lent cheap or at no cost.

Its makes economic sense as a business owner to provide your customers with the cheapest option, supply and demand. Otherwise you go out of Business real quick.

Its not viable for a government then to build it and pay people low wages, then other business will want to do the same, think of the minimum wage. Just will not work under a democracy where people actually want rights as a worker.

 

[Jason76]

The short answer is no.

Just because China build a lot of stuff and send it to the USA doesnt mean the people in the USA are lazy or they cant do it.

China can build things cheaper because they have poor working conditions and wages are lower. Its a communist government who controls a lot of what is built and for how much, money can be lent cheap or at no cost.

Its makes economic sense as a business owner to provide your customers with the cheapest option, supply and demand. Otherwise you go out of Business real quick.

Its not viable for a government then to build it and pay people low wages, then other business will want to do the same, think of the minimum wage. Just will not work under a democracy where people actually want rights as a worker.

Well, it's a bit more complex than it seems. I mean, some Americans (we are really meaning westerners here) can prosper with more work and less pay - and others can't handle it.

I mean, I sort of buy the argument, for instance, that certain farmers are right - when they say Americans - just aren't good low-level agricultural workers (picking beans, whatnot).

 

[Cam]

I'm American. Am I lazy? I don't think so? Yes, lots of major corporations have moved their operations overseas. I'd say @SoRonerly put the nail on the head as to why that is. The fact that so many companies have their production facilities in China has a lot to do with why the stock market is struggling so much with the Coronavirus. Some of these factories were shut down due to the outbreak.

I really despise the mindset that Americans are lazy. Sure, part of us are, but I have trouble believing that every country doesn't have a percentage of people like that. Actually, I've primarily heard this nonsense from older Americans talking about "this awful new generation of Americans," which is referring to people like me, I guess. We're not bad, I promise.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

A lot of American companies (and other nations companies) outsource to China because of relaxed labour laws and it's extremely cheap to do so. It's not about laziness. It's all about money.

 

[Thomasss]

I have worked 80 hour work weeks just to buy food and have a car. I hire people to care for the elderly and they work double shifts just to make ends meet. There are some that have no idea what it's like to work for what you have, and some that simply have kids just so they don't have to work and the government pays them - but each country has it's own share of people who don't have a work ethic, it doesn't mean that the whole country is lazy. Just because our biggest imports come from China, does not mean we're too lazy to build factories and make the stuff ourselves. Businesses are about money, like @Puppuccino said, it's all about the money.

 

[overcast]

I think I made the reference of "americans are lazy" in context of moving their local business and production lines to china, SEA nations and africa or south america for that matter. I didn't made that remark in context of normal 9 to 5 going person being lazy. Reliance on outsourcing and not having own supply chains in own country was lazy move, especially considering corona or any other external variable can put country in serious shortage of resources.

 

[SoRonerly]

I disagree, how is making more money being lazy?

Or you can produce it in your own country and go broke while you competition take you over and fire all your workers.

No thanks.

Countries reliance on China for manufacturing has absolutely nothing to do with laziness, but its certainly something that needs to be looked at as I would agree that there is way too much reliance on China at the moment.

I think the low wage gap is the biggest issue here, if that can somehow be solved then things can be produced at the same price at home as in China. I mean its crazy, in Australia we send Iron Ore etc to China and they turn it into steel then ship it back to us, just crazy but this works out cheaper then producing it in our own country. Frustrating.

 

[overcast]

It's not making more money that is being lazy, it's outsourcing even the smallest possible thing to offshore nations and making local talent and business go downhill is being lazy. Worker union and minimum wage can be one excuse but that does mean in near future AI will also take over those same jobs in the same excuse of minimum wage not affordable to business owners. That laziness itself leads to possible future issues. Relying on external sources for even the basic stuff, does make one lazy. For example, US which has both climate and soil it it's favor for some specific perishable products, it still persists on imports, goes to show laziness of business leaders to support local economy. One can't put "empathy" and "universal basic income" to resolve this. The attitude of ignoring local resources is lazy.

 

[Jason76]

I think a lot of people have setbacks - but still, there not living up to potential.

 

[Setfragil]

I understood your points perfectly. Americans are not really lazy it is just that they have a good working system that is better than what other countries offers her citizens in terms of quality of life and jobs. In some developing countries, to get employed in many menial jobs is like daydreaming and when such people travels to US and get employment easily in those jobs, it is like a dream come true for them.