The Myth of "Exporting Jobs"

Ludwig von Mises Institute ^ | June 27, 2003 | William L. Anderson

[Willie Green]

So making something available and convenient to the consumer adds no value?

It's a service for which some are willing to pay, but there is no value-added.
It's the same identical good that it was before, no wealth was created.

Ridiculous argument Comrade.

Tired of concocting examples that are dismissed so easily, eh?
Gotta start in with the personal attacks?
LOL! Typical.

[Mad Dawgg]

"I'm an Austrian school arm-chair economist so I'm bummed that this is coming form the Von Mises Institute but, ya can't always hit a home run."

Hmmm, I am very confused. Tthe summation of this article states that intrusive big government caused the problem and more of it will only exacerbate the problem and you are bummed? Yet you claim to be of the Austrian school of economics?

Please explain.

[ggekko]

"You are not taking cognizance of the industrial piracy being plied by China...."

China is a special case. Many companies have been mesmerized by the future possibility of selling into a billion-person market and so ignore the police-state reality of China's present. When controlling for the obfuscation factor of China's government real incomes of the Chinese people are not growing. The promised bright future of billion-person market may never arrive.

Having said this Chinese government has worked to provide a very favorable investment climate for US and European firms looking to re-export into US and European markets. This climate again compares very favorably with the US investment climate.

There is simply no way to escape the logic that if US polciy makers continue to allow to US to be a poor place to invest because of the reasons cited earlier more investment flows will move offshore.

[Willie Green]

In Pyhsics work is done when a mass is moved up or down- It takes work to lift a box, but not to carry it.

LOL! Not only are you pi$$-poor at economics, you don't know physics worth $hit either.

[Mad Dawgg]

"There is simply no way to escape the logic that if US polciy makers continue to allow to US to be a poor place to invest because of the reasons cited earlier more investment flows will move offshore."

Eggsactly Batman!

The Free Market is like water!

It flows to the least resistance!

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

OPIC and EX-IM spend billions of tax dollars. Here's how it helped Enron:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26159

When a business is taxed, it passes the cost on to the consumer, eventually reaching the American taxpayer. Then the American taxpayer loses his job because his tax $$ enabled a corporation to outsource his job to India or China, where the cost/standard of living is much less. When congressmen are lobbied/bribed by corporate execs who cannot see past this year's bonus, that is a RACKET and a SCAM.
Here's Phyllis Schlafly (a noted Christian Conservative) on this:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/ps20030602.shtml
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/ps20030610.shtml

Have you considered the National Security risks involved in Globalisation?
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-hawkins062503.asp
http://www.tradealert.org/view_art.asp?Prod_ID=803

[ex-snook]

"Fair trade would set tariffs equal to the cost of our regulations and enviromental laws or fair trade would eliminate all our regulations equal to the regulations in Botswana. Then we would see fair trade. Until then, we are seeing unfair trade promoted and subsidized by our government. "

Well stated and beyond those whose speciality is name-calling to attract attention (Marxist, Socialist, Buchananite, etc).

The American business horse is handicapped with the costs imposed by government. Unless those costs are removed (not likely) then add this government cost handicap to imports (tariffs).

[Mad Dawgg]

"The American business horse is handicapped with the costs imposed by government. Unless those costs are removed..."

Yes but Congress has never heard of Occam's Razor so more regulation is their answer!

[Toddsterpatriot]

It's a service for which some are willing to pay, but there is no value-added.

Still have a problem with your narrow definition of value added.

Lets look at oil. At the well head in Saudi Arabia it's very cheap? Right? Now you build a pipeline to get it to the Gulf. Build a terminal and a supertanker and ship the oil to a refinery in Louisiana.

There it is turned into gasoline, heating oil, diesel and petrochemical feedstocks.

By your definition only the refinery has created any value. Is that correct?

[RussianConservative]

Russia in major tech boom...forcast tech market to double this year to half billion dollars....consider dollar spend in Russia 3-5 times as far as America.

[samuel_adams_us]

Definately, I would like to see the people in Ruwanda writing software and designing chips. I think they would first learn how to read.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Definately, I would like to see the people in Ruwanda writing software and designing chips. I think they would first learn how to read.

You realize you are agreeing with the author? Cheap wages don't help if the workers can't do the job.

[Incorrigible]

Please explain.

Like I said, I stopped reading at the Rwanda line.  That statement is histrionic and thus, rips credibility from the article as a whole.

Well, I'm not entirely truthful, I skimmed over the rest and saw that he was blaming it on bad, big government policies.  I agree with this conclusion but he could have been more precise and not lose the punch of it.

A good currency is hard to find but a hard currency is good to find.

[Poohbah]

You realize you are agreeing with the author? Cheap wages don't help if the workers can't do the job.

You're using logic and common sense again. Knock it off, you're confusing people.

[ffusco]

Now you've gone and hurt my feelings.

*eye roll*

[meadsjn]

Roberts has written elsewhere that production of goods creates wealth because of the "value added" process of manufacturing. For example, a tree is first cut down, then sent to the sawmill, then made into lumber, and finally into the finished product of a house, furniture, or whatever it may be. At each stage, there is "value added" to the raw material.

While no doubt there are changes at each stage of manufacturing and distribution, the "value added" concept has no place in economic thinking and clearly is at odds with Menger's emphasis that the value of the factors of production emanates from the value of the final product. In other words, value flows from the final product backwards (or downwards), not upwards, as Roberts suggests. To put it another way, the concept of "value added" is something used for accounting purposes, but is not a true form of economic measurement.

These two paragraphs are sufficient to establish the level of intellectual dishonesty we can expect from this writer.

I'd like to know if I can withhold payment to all my vendors until I sell my products and services, and get paid, then I will let them know how much I have determined their parts and labor to have been worth.

[Willie Green]

By your definition only the refinery has created any value. Is that correct?

Other than the labor that was utilized to actually extract the oil from the ground, that is correct.
One can also validly claim that wealth was created by those who constructed the well head, the pipeline, the terminals, the tankers and the refinery. Those are all examples of the creation of wealth. But as far as the actual production of petroleum products, you are correct, only the extraction of the oil and the refinery are value-added. The transport of the oil does not add value.

[samuel_adams_us]

It was sarcasm, didn't you figure that out? You expect them to put down their spears and pick up the key board???

[Toddsterpatriot]

value flows from the final product backwards

Value is different than payment, but nice try.

[ffusco]

...And no money spent on software development required- just steal what you need and pirate the software.