Dismal Times For You, Great Times For The Wealthy

   Take a look at this from Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management World Report for 2011. It would seem that High net worth individuals (HNWIs) are doing just fine in this economy of “ sacrifice ).

Globally, HNWIs’ financial wealth grew 9.7% in 2010 to reach US$42.7 trillion, surpassing the 2007 pre-crisis peak. The global population of HNWIs grew 8.3% to 10.9 million. Regionally:
––The population of HNWIs in Asia-Pacific, at 3.3 million individuals, is now the second-largest in the world behind North America, and ahead of Europe for the first time. The combined wealth of Asia-Pacific HNWIs had already topped Europe’s in 2009, and that
gap widened in 2010.
––Europe’s HNWI wealth totaled US$10.2 trillion after growing 7.2% in 2010, while Asia-Pacific HNWI wealth was US$10.8 trillion, up 12.1%.
––North American HNWI wealth hit US$11.6 trillion in 2010, up 9.1%.
––Latin America saw another modest gain (6.2%) in its HNWI population in 2010 and HNWI wealth rose 9.2%. The Latin America HNWI segment has proved relatively resilient and stable in recent years (the number of HNWIs shrank just 0.7% in 2008) and HNWI wealth is now up 18.1% from 2007.

--India’s HNWI population entered the Top 12 for the first time and Australia edged up another notch to No. 9.

Over time, the HNWI population is very gradually becoming more fragmented across the globe, but its geographic distribution in 2010 was much the same overall as it has been, and 53.0% of the world’s HNWIs were still concentrated in the U.S., Japan, and Germany. Ultra-HNWIs posted slightly stronger-than-average gains in their numbers and wealth. The global population of Ultra-HNWIs grew by 10.2% in 2010 andits wealth by 11.5%. As a result, Ultra-HNWIs accounted for 36.1% of global HNWI wealth, up from 35.5%, while representing only 0.9% of the global HNWI population.

   Of course, the wealthy in the United States are doing extremely well in our tough economy, no major shock there, is there?

The population of HNWIs in North America rose 8.6% in 2010 to 3.4 million, after rising 16.6% in 2009. Their wealth rose 9.1% to US$11.6 trillion. The U.S. is still home to the single largest HNW segment in the world, with its 3.1 million HNWIs accounting for 28.6% of the global HNWI population.

   Still, the Republicans and more than a few Democrats want to give these hoods, most who pay little to no taxes, even more tax cuts while states have to cut their budgets by firing teachers,and basically busting unions of firefighters and police. Let us not forget the pension scam being run by all states under Republican control.

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Those Outsourced Jobs

Tenn. Factory Worker Tells Truth About Outsourcing

By  The Electrical Worker @ Daily Kos   Wed Jun 22, 2011  

Employees of the Philips lighting fixture plant in Sparta, Tenn., were among those honored for their efforts to keep an award-winning light fixture plant from moving to Mexico June 20.

They were invited to tell their story before 400 people at the annual awards celebration sponsored by the labor rights organization American Rights at Work in Washington, D.C.

Bo McCurry, a 25-year employee, told the crowd

I’m here today on behalf of a group of people who are losing their jobs in Sparta, Tennessee. But more than that, I’m here today on behalf of every family in America -every community and economy that is suffering for the same reason that we are -a European-owned company is abusing our trade laws and taking our jobs.    

I want to speak today to every person who has ever considered holding a share of Philips stock, bought a Philips light bulb or installed a Philips light fixture - because you’re not going to like what they’re doing with your money.  What they’re doing is not good for America, for Sparta, for me and my family. But it’s not even good for the company and stockholders, in the long run.

The factory had received numerous awards over the years for excellence, including being named one of North America’s top 10 plants by Industry Week magazine in 2009.

But without explanation, Netherlands-based Philips – which purchased the factory in 2007 – announced last fall that it was shutting down it down and moving most of the work to Mexico by 2012, putting 275 workers out of a job.

As industry analyst Kevin Meyer wrote about the closure announcement, it was:

Yet another decision completely disconnected from business reality … Build a new plant, hire a couple hundred new people at a cheaper wage, training them, and deal with initial quality issues. Somehow that is cheaper than preserving the knowledge, creativity, and experience of a couple hundred employees at a 46-year old facility that has reinvented itself.

The Sparta plant would be the sixth U.S. Philips facility outsourced since 2007.

Says McCurry:

America – we’ve got to pay attention here. There is a reason that the Euro has been doing so well while the dollar has not.  There is a reason that we have more people dealing cards in casinos than running lathes in this country. We’ve been asleep at the wheel while other countries have bought up all of our factories and then taken our globally competitive business and put it in other places. They pocket all of the profits – we let them do that – but now, we don’t even have an opportunity to make a living by making that money for them.

Go to www.tellphilips.com for more information.

Originally posted to The Electrical Worker on Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 08:38 AM PDT.

Also republished by Class Warfare Newsletter: The Plutocracy VS the Working Class.

 

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