Google, MicroSoft, and Apple combined have $300 billion in cash parked in offshore banks. If they were allowed to bring that money into the US tax free and invest that money (just as almost every other country in the world allows), tens of thousands of middle class jobs would be created. But the protectionists don't think it is fair that those global economy companies have made money in other countries and want to punish them for the profits they have made, thus keeping that investment capital available for every country in the world except the US.
Does free trade result in more economic growth and more jobs and create better opportunity for liberty and prosperity? Absolutely! Does it mean that the same middle class job from 1972 will still be there? Certainly not. But it does mean the creation of newer jobs to replace it.
The status quo is being lapped by a dynamic global economy. This country can either lead it, or it can fall behind. Protectionism guarantees that we fall behind.
Nope.
Microsoft, a couple o' years back, had a special $57 Billion (with a 'B') dividend payout; something like $3 / share.
You might think that such a thing proves their collective management genius; but rather the opposite.
When you buy stock in a company, you are saying that you trust the management of the company to make that money grow faster than anyone else you can think of. By giving the money back to stockholders, management was admitting they couldn't come up with any way to deploy that money and make it grow, that they had any confidence would actually work.
But remember, they have to hire H1-Bs because they can't afford to pay bloated American salaries: if they'd parked that $57 billion in highly rated State Bonds, (free of Fed taxes), they'd have pulled in a billion or two in free cash flow: enough to pay the American salaries directly. Without touching the principal, or affecting free cash flow from continuing operations.
BTW, did you see where one of these Silicon Valley places (Faceberg, maybe?) just paid all of their U.K. employees $1 million EACH as a bonus?
So you're right, I guess they have to import Third Worlders because they can't afford Americans. Hiring Indian worked *SO* well for Sun and for Hewlett-Patel, didn't it?