A rising tide lifts all boats - except when you’re using the water from one boat to do all the lifting.
The problem with the economy is not Globalization, its Fascism and Marxism in Washington DC. Our industries moved over seas not because Americans were lazy or wanted too much money, it was because Washington wanted too much money and put up so many obstacles that it became cheaper to build it overseas without all the paperwork.
The tone of this article is accept it, get used to it.
Horse shirt. FIGHT IT. The One World Government is Tyrany.
Notable quote:
“Some lament America’s trade deficits, but they’re only part of the country’s international balance sheet. In 2011, our red ink in goods totaled $738.4 billion, offset by a services surplus of $178.5 billion and foreign-investment inflows of $559.8 billion. As a matter of strict accounting, all countries’ international transactions balance — so nobody is taking advantage of anyone else.”
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This is a point that is, unfortunately, not widely recognized, even here on FR. The trade imbalance is, in fact, brought into balance by foreign investment in the US. Some of that investment flows to the stock, bond and real estate markets while I suspect a significant portion of it goes to the purchase of U. S. Government securities.
Bottom line: there is no net trade imbalance.
1) The U.S. government has crippled American companies with its taxes and regulations, particularly with all the ridiculous reporting requirements and crazy environmental and ADA mandates.
2) The U.S. is not playing on a level field---the jobs are going to places like Communist China, lawless Mexico, and Southeast Asia, where slave-like labor is common place, especially with children.
3) The unions and lawyers have driven costs of production through the roof.
I don't see any hope for this country---the factories will never return, and the U.S. will be service industry only in the future, if that.
The correct term for sending jobs out of the country is “offshoring,” not “outsourcing.” But that shows how much the supposedly smartest people know about economics.
Yeah their purchases of our companies, debt and manufacturing capacity = our purchases of their communist slave labor trinkets.
Not one word in this crap piece about national security and our ability to defend ourselves in the event of a an actual war of attrition or world war. Name a world power that off shored its industrial base.
This article is BS on so many levels.
Weak nations import most of what they use, strong nations produce most of what they use. Do you think its wise that we have outsourced our energy production?
500 Billion a year that leaves the country and leaves us vulnerable to blackmail.
How well do you think articles like this will play out with an angry electorate? The country is short 10-20 million jobs, due to poor government policy that encourages outsourcing.
China is on the way to becoming the most powerful country in the world. Think about that...
Americans have spent the better part of 30 years filling their homes to the rafters with foreign made products.
We look silly and hypocritical sitting around lamenting “outsourcing”.
Also, our hyper-comsumption (based largely on debt) economic model was never sustainable in the long run. We are now seeing the results of putting all our eggs in one unsustainable economic basket.
Again, we look pretty silly whining and complaining now while steadfastly clining to a model that CAN NOT BE SUSTAINED.
Adapting to outsourcing: babysitting 10,000 mile long supply lines with people who will tell you flat out they understand all your issues exactly and who will then turn around and make any damn thing they can that will fit in the shipping container and look close enough to what your ordered to get you to cut a check.
I think the majority of the American public is with Ross Perot on this one.
Protectionism may be crappy macroeconomic policy. But we are darned sure ready to give it a try.
