Even if an American has well under a million dollars in his bank account, he, according to CNN.com, is part of the 1%.
You see, we continue to be United States-centric which, for some, is just fine. But for those who understand that we as a planet must now work as a team whether we like all of our team members or not, the global 1% is a very different figure than the domestic 1%. If you make over $34,000/year, you are part of the 1% if you consider all potential earners on the planet. That puts almost all of us in the super filthy rich category. Feeling better already, aren't you?
The problem is that the middle class globally makes just $1,225 a year. That's right, a year - not a month or a week.
Given the above, if we truly look at our economics as a global issue, these figures put a new perspective on labor costs, minimum wage, pension plans, 401Ks, child labor laws, etc.
As China's economy continues to "Westernize" and conditions improve, workers are demanding, as much as they can demand, higher wages. As their wages rise, the separation between the low cost China labor and American labor costs narrows.
There is already some talk that some of the jobs that left the States over the last 20 years may return in some numbers. Let's face it. A lot of the companies that sent jobs offshore in the last decade did so because the difference in labor cost was so substantial that they felt that they had no choice if they wanted to remain competitive with others who had already made the move.
Other companies remained stalwart in being true to "Made in America." New Balance shoes, for one, never made the move offshore like their competitors Nike and Adidas, and although New Balance will never challenge the big boys, they are doing quite well by watching their costs and creating strong partnerships.
We have a client in the medical device industry who has seen all of their competitors go offshore and has pledged to never do so. His company pays a very fair wage with solid benefits and produces quality products in high demand.
It can be done. But if we are all in this together, we need to put a few additional zeros on the end of that global 1% number. And let's face it, $34,000 doesn't exactly equate to a summer home in the Hamptons and a new Jaguar.
