[Olog-hai]

I guess Alexander Hamilton is wrong also.

Not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufactures. Every nation, with a view to those great objects, ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitation, clothing and defense. …

[DoughtyOne]

I would recommend this fool take a look at what has happened to two nations in the last twenty years.

China
The United States

Perhaps if he thinks about it long enough, he’ll be able to figure out which nation got the best of the Free Trade deal.

One nation is growing like gang-busters.

One nation is slipping over the edge toward third world status.

Right now were poised to slice and dice our military. China is building it’s military as fast as it can.

Anyone at this point, that can’t see the hand-writing on the wall as it relates to manufacturing at home and abroad, is a damned fool or an out and out traitor.

[The Working Man]

This author does make a point. I don’t agree with all of it but he does have a point.

And although the words have been misused by others I think that Business be it a Corporation or a mom and pop Sole proprietorship need to think about where there customer base is coming from. Some call this Corporate-Citizenship I call it smart business sense.

If the customer base you are developing is Local, State or at the National level then you do more for your bottom line in the long term in providing your potential customers with work/jobs that provide them an income to buy your products that you produce here.

If you are international in scope both for your customer base as well as your suppliers then out-sourcing may make more sense.

Let’s face it... Unless your customers can afford your products you won’t make any sales.

[Olog-hai]

Meant to put in this paragraph, that explains Hamilton’s POV:

The possession of these is necessary to the perfection of the body politic, to the safety as well as to the welfare of the society; the want of either is the want of an important organ of political life and Motion; and in the various crises which await a state, it must severely feel the effects of any such deficiency. The extreme embarrassments of the United States during the late War, from an incapacity of supplying themselves, are still matter of keen recollection: A future war might be expected again to exemplify the mischiefs and dangers of a situation to which that incapacity is still in too great a degree applicable, unless changed by timely and vigorous exertion. To effect this change as fast as shall be prudent merits all the attention and all the Zeal of our Public Councils; 'tis the next great work to be accomplished. …

I advise reading the rest of this instead of globalist ramblings on Forbes. Anyone who expects Red China or the European Union to be friendly to us in terms of supplying our defense needs is putting trust in the wrong place.

[Monty22002]

This is the worst article I’ve seen in a long time, maybe all year.

“Man did not rise from the cave to the skyscraper by stealing his neighbor’s roots and berries.”

I guess we got it by kumbaya? He forgets about the whole history of warfare and conflict. And the USA isn’t exactly in the skyscraper building business much anymore. That’s off to the arabs and Chinese thanks to this guy’s pushed agenda.

[DTogo]

The one question corrupt, self-serving politicians in Mordor-on-the-Potomac don't want to ask about out-sourcing: why?

The "issue" of out-sourcing is more important than the solution: remove Mordor from the economy.

[Monty22002]

“Loss of jobs? Quite the contrary. Outsourcing means better or better-paying jobs for Americans. When individuals are fired from one line of work, it’s to release capital to do other work–the law of comparative advantage again.”

I love this line too. If you get offshored and lose your job, be happy moron! It’s for your own good!

[3Fingas]

This author is delusional if he thinks that putting America first is collectivist. Promoting manufacturing in America is what made this country the economic titan it eventually became. “Free Trade” is one of the things that destroyed the British Empire and is one of the things that is now destroying us. There is no such thing as “Free Trade” among nations. The Chinese, the Japanese, the Koreans, the Indians, the Germans, etc. do not practice free trade. They do everything they can to promote their industries and gain economic advantage over their trading partners. We used to understand this ourselves, but for some reason all of our Ivy-League indoctrinated, free-trade utopian leaders can’t understand this simple principle. The Chinese and others view us as suckers just as we thought the British were suckers when we supplanted them 100 years ago.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

But wealth has to be produced before it can be traded or stolen. Without production, there is nothing to steal. Production not theft is the motor of human history. Man did not rise from the cave to the skyscraper by stealing his neighbor’s roots and berries. The buildings, cars, and computers were not there to be stolen–they had to be thought of, invented, produced.

Inside the Chinese Boom in Corporate Espionage

"China did not invent intellectual property theft; it’s just doing it on an unprecedented scale."

I guess as long as Deng's version of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) doesn't steal our roots and berries it okay that Red China is stealing everything else on an unprecedented scale.

(I skimmed the posted article -- I hope the author did not ignore Red China's crimes and blame it all on us.)

[wolfman]

What allegiance should businesses hold to the the United States? What is the United states any more? The government loads down businesses with so many taxes and regulations that it becomes impossible for them to DO business here. Our founding fathers fought a war over alot less tyranny than we’re under now. I have no problem with Americans seeking freedom, and freedom has left our shores unfortunately.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Open war in the South China Sea

"By establishing a US military base in Darwin and given Washington’s 'backing' for the claimant states, especially the Philippines, against the PRC, the US and Australia have deepened their involvement directly or indirectly in the conflict, making the region more vulnerable to war."

Besides the problems listed in the Jakarta Post it seems to me that Red China's rampant economic problems, rampant unrest, and the unprecedented problems in the Party's efforts to transfer leadership -- which by itself could lead to revolution depending upon the power of Bo -- the Communists' only choice will be war to distract the population.

Then can we back America without being insulted and called names?

[mjp]

average real wage rates = average money wage rates/average prices.

When prices are lower due to lower prices for foreign goods, average real wage rates increase and the buying power of the average wage earner increases. When average real wages increase the standard of living for the average wage earner increases.

[jimfree]

The correct term is “right sourcing”. Few use it. But if it costs me $4 per unit to source something from Singapore and $8 to source it from Kansas with the same availability and quality, what would you do?

Now many companies have experimented with foreign sourcing and could not get the availability and quality required for their businesses. They either switched back to the US or the went out of business.

Thomas Sowell is my favorite authority on outsourcing. This is just one of his many comments on the topic.

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2004/03/16/outsourcing/page/full/

[GlockThe Vote]

I disagree w this 1000000%.

[Captain Peter Blood]

To write this kind of drivel is insane, are these the talking points of the Trilateral Commission???? No country can survive and prosper without a balanced economy and that means a strong manufacturing base.
Without a balanced economy there is no strong middle-class.
We cannot as a country have our GDP dependent on the consumer making up 70% of it by buying imported merchandise and we cannot be strong by trying to transition to a service economy.
I strongly feel a reset is coming, probably in the form of a economic collapse and/or a bond default.
China is slowing dramatically, Europe cannot buy it's goods and we won't be able either soon enough which means that China's big money surplus won't mean squat.

[ex-snook]

"Well, no. Not in a thousand years. The fear of outsourcing and international trade is economic nonsense and moral blindness. More than that: this anti-profit attitude is un-American. "

No Harry putting money before country is unpatriotic. This is patriotic.

[maxwellsmart_agent]

For those concerned about outsourcing, what kind of car do you drive? I drive a Ford.

[editor-surveyor]

Outsourcing to your enemies is insane.

Trade should be reserved for our ideological partners.