tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post1679018136900502691..comments2024-03-27T21:30:35.824+00:00Comments on UK Commentators: "And what will happen to us?"Labanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12031578024191117985noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-65549650033007952152008-10-22T04:25:00.000+00:002008-10-22T04:25:00.000+00:00"Japan still has a collapsing demographic."Which g..."Japan still has a collapsing demographic."<BR/><BR/>Which gives a country two real options:<BR/><BR/>1. Import millions of immigrants to replace the locals.<BR/><BR/>2. Create new technologies that significantly increase the productivity of the smaller population.<BR/><BR/>Britain has chosen option 1. Japan has chosen option 2.<BR/><BR/>Which do you think is a smarter policy?<BR/><BR/>The idea that you need an ever-growing population is a left-over from an industrial past where humans were required to run the machines, whereas today machines can increasingly run themselves most of the time. It's doubly absurd in a country like Britain where manufacturing has almost disappeared.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-88919964601879677102008-10-19T16:29:00.000+00:002008-10-19T16:29:00.000+00:00People don't study science because there are no jo...People don't study science because there are no jobs in it, in the UK.<BR/>I am a chemistry Phd and I would advise people not to do - study computer science or law.<BR/><BR/>I am glad that my wife is an immigrant and we are going to her country in a few years time. I reckon by the time we retire (in 30 years) her country (Colombia) could be better off than ours - seem crazy. Think about South Korea !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-77334552434867905802008-10-19T07:33:00.000+00:002008-10-19T07:33:00.000+00:00Hi Laban,With regard to the same phenomenon happen...Hi Laban,<BR/>With regard to the same phenomenon happening to the US...<BR/><BR/>I seem to recall reading recently that despite the change to the "knowledge economy", US manufacturing output is at 70% of its all-time peak. I would suggest that the situation is more recoverable there than here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-29932026643023849422008-10-18T11:51:00.000+00:002008-10-18T11:51:00.000+00:00National government, never liking to be outdone by...National government, never liking to be outdone by local, has effectively halted the setting up of Dyson's proposed <A HREF="http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2008/10/james-dyson-tel.html" REL="nofollow">School Of Design Innovation</A> in Bath.<BR/><BR/>Can we have an election yet?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-64869085730949822412008-10-17T19:39:00.000+00:002008-10-17T19:39:00.000+00:00A collapsing demographic for the UK wouldn't neces...A collapsing demographic for the UK wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, as the Optimum Population Trust keep pointing out. England would feel a lot more spacious with a few million fewer people - say back to 1960 or 1970 levels.<BR/><BR/><BR/>What we've got is a collapsing demographic for the natives, aided by those 6 million abortions since 1967, and a spiralling demographic for the incomers.Labanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031578024191117985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-34753408819456031582008-10-17T15:52:00.000+00:002008-10-17T15:52:00.000+00:00Hugh Oxford - Japan still has a collapsing demogra...Hugh Oxford - <I>Japan still has a collapsing demographic.</I><BR/><BR/>Doesnt matter too much if the Japanese are not being replaced in their own territory by immigration - which they arent.<BR/><BR/>Yaffle quoting JD - <I>The upshot is that we now have more people at Malmesbury than ever. All of them are in higher-skilled, better-paid jobs. Most are scientists and engineers.<BR/><BR/>So not so bad at all, really.</I><BR/><BR/>Sorry very bad in fact!<BR/><BR/>That means work for the above average IQ folks, lets say 1/3 of the population, not to mention well educated. Where does that leave the other 2/3 exactly?<BR/><BR/>Even that wouldnt be so bad but we are importing people from the 3rd world with lower average IQs. And thats a good idea because...<BR/><BR/>Japan btw has a high IQ well educated population, they have gone into automation, labour saving technology.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-24978847457353039082008-10-17T15:34:00.000+00:002008-10-17T15:34:00.000+00:00Thanks to Laban and J Racknell for the links to th...Thanks to Laban and J Racknell for the links to the Dyson lecture. It's very satisfying to see an entrepreneurial engineer like Dyson confirm from direct experience the validity of the 'Schwerpunkt' concept (Correlli Barnett) and praise 'Hard Industries' (Eamonn Fingleton).<BR/>That's 'satisfying' in the purely cerebral sense; the practical implications for us all as citizens of a seemingly sinking ship are horrendous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-57603860428603106972008-10-17T14:48:00.000+00:002008-10-17T14:48:00.000+00:00Laban,Your Dyson quote continues:Moving Dyson prod...Laban,<BR/><BR/>Your Dyson quote continues:<BR/><BR/><I>Moving Dyson production abroad was a tough decision. Most especially because I had to make 550 people redundant.<BR/><BR/>However, it meant we could cut our costs, and expand our production. We could invest in R&D and employ more staff.<BR/><BR/>The upshot is that we now have more people at Malmesbury than ever. All of them are in higher-skilled, better-paid jobs. Most are scientists and engineers.</I><BR/><BR/>So not so bad at all, really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-23010405809800799612008-10-17T12:34:00.000+00:002008-10-17T12:34:00.000+00:00yeah well put, but how are we going to start produ...<I>yeah well put, but how are we going to start producing stuff again?<BR/>We have little left of raw materials, and much of the farmland especially in the South-East has been concreted over, if we hit really hard times we would not be able to feed ourselves.</I><BR/><BR/>Places like Hong Kong and Singapore have never had too much trouble, it just needs the right attitude and government understanding - both of which are pretty much dissapearing in this country now. (and in Europe, especially the REACH directives)<BR/><BR/>And we can't feed ourselves now anyway, and couldn't even if DEFRA wasn't screwing up the farming industry so badly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-38090859782563729812008-10-17T12:03:00.000+00:002008-10-17T12:03:00.000+00:00An illuminating lecture. Dyson has been unfavourab...An illuminating lecture. Dyson has been unfavourably vilified for decamping to Malaysia, in search of cheap labour. <BR/><BR/>Wider questions have to be asked as to why this country wants 50% of the younger population to go into higher education. The majority of the courses on offer are useless, such as the degree in Surf "Science" and "Technology" at Plymouth Univesity. Likewise, International Development courses add nothing to the economy of this country, but they're extremely popular. They merely perpetuate the over-blown aid industry, which specializes in "assisting" picanninies with watermelon smiles (Boris Johnson was spot on with his piece on the attitude of well-meaning liberals to cultures of the developing world). <BR/><BR/>Something else, the hard sciences are badly taught at secondary level. A few days ago, Michael Gove said that there were no science specialists teaching the subject in any of the comprehensive schools in London. This is probably reflected to a greater or lesser extent throughout England and Wales (the Scots for their many sins have an excellent education system). There is an inevitable 'dumbing down' at university level because of this.<BR/><BR/>At the end of my lifetime I expect to see the Brits shining the shoes of the Chinese and Indians. The offering of menial services will become our stock-in-trade. Quite a frightening thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-25539295245653238262008-10-17T11:31:00.000+00:002008-10-17T11:31:00.000+00:00that should of course be 5 times as many psycholog...that should of course be 5 times as many psychologists as physicists.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-91776179880212103722008-10-17T11:27:00.000+00:002008-10-17T11:27:00.000+00:00Most of us would like to see a revival of manufact...Most of us would like to see a revival of manufacturing,it's really only common sense,but I wonder where any new manufacturers are going to find staff.<BR/><BR/>As noted, this is now a country that produces 3 times as many psychologists as physicists.<BR/><BR/>It is also a country where not many young people,in my experience, have any desire for work that involves getting their hands dirty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-66481476798600327702008-10-17T10:27:00.000+00:002008-10-17T10:27:00.000+00:00Japan still has a collapsing demographic.Japan still has a collapsing demographic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-58912959223563178262008-10-17T07:18:00.000+00:002008-10-17T07:18:00.000+00:00There's a mix of sense and silliness.Given the ris...There's a mix of sense and silliness.<BR/><BR/>Given the rise of far Eastern economies, even if British exports had remain static they would have declined as a portion of world trade.<BR/><BR/>So the statement <I>In 1950, we produced a quarter of the world's exports; in 1970, just one tenth.</I> tells us little.<BR/><BR/>After the 1870s British manufacturing continued to grow but it was no longer the leader in innovation. We relied on a legacy of quality to maintain demand to some extent and also the fact of empire to restrict the ability of others to compete. It seems logical to suppose that if British goods had suffered fair competition earlier the complacency and inertia that typified our industry might not have been such a problem. Having an empire enabled us to continue riveting through and after WWII, when even the Russians were welding.<BR/><BR/><I>Instead, Governments imposed PAYE and hammered them with high interest rates, year after year. By the mid-1980s, most had gone to the wall."</I><BR/><BR/>I get the interest rates but PAYE needs far more explanation to be useful. It comes across initially as a complaint about paying tax. The real problem is the burden of bureaucracy that is imposed. A large company can afford to pay admin staff to fulfil regulatory requirements - it is a small part of the total cost base. But for an organisation employing say 10 people, the owner finds it hard to do such things. He probably isn't skilled in that task and it takes up a disproportionate part of his time. <BR/><BR/>This time is effectively a tax imposed by the state on small businesses and as the saying goes: if you want more of something then subsidise it, if you want less then tax it.<BR/><BR/>Big companies love bureaucracy. They know that it tilts the playing fields in their favour.<BR/><BR/>A little economics is a good thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-5912484988729339012008-10-17T06:29:00.000+00:002008-10-17T06:29:00.000+00:00Laban,The performance of R & D functions alway...Laban,<BR/><BR/>The performance of R & D functions always follows the physical location of manufacturing - this is a point the Reagan Administraton economist Paul Craifg Roberts has made on VDare.com time and time again. <BR/><BR/>What is galling about Dyson's lecture is the fact he felt forced into offshoring his industry. Just like the USA, we have hollowed out our economy for no reason other than to reap the promised rewards of the false religion called economics. For it is a religion.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11219870920638914624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-15153541710589313832008-10-17T04:24:00.000+00:002008-10-17T04:24:00.000+00:00yeah well put, but how are we going to start produ...yeah well put, but how are we going to start producing stuff again?<BR/>We have little left of raw materials, and much of the farmland especially in the South-East has been concreted over, if we hit really hard times we would not be able to feed ourselves.<BR/><BR/>My dad this year was able to produce 5 ton per acre of wheat, sounds good when 10 years ago we only hoped for 3-4, and before that 2-3. But without the expensive fertilizers and chemicals we could probably only hope for 1-2 tons, 2.5 at very best. Thats when the economic meltdown would really be felt!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5187043.post-23671294459665579852008-10-16T23:18:00.000+00:002008-10-16T23:18:00.000+00:00Well put,concise and frightening.Well put,concise and frightening.Thudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320037763190473684noreply@blogger.com