Posted on 08/06/2003 6:52:33 PM PDT by Radix
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:10:36 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Simple, we account for it by counting the dollars coming into the country in exchange for those services outside the country.
If you want to argue the merit or demerits of "trade deficits", I would probably agree with you. But there IS a way to measure financial services sold.
The real question is why the average American is so burdened with debt. Look, I'm not going to debate that we have the greatest standard of living or the largest economy in the world, we do. However, the shift to a service and knowledge based economy is a trap, because these jobs are easily transportable. What we need is a breakthrough of new technologies that will allow a rejuvenation of manufacturing. Anything else is a fool's quest.I suppose that's one way to interpret the rich data of the world. Another would be to suggest that depending on a corporation or a manufacturer or an industry to provide you job security is itself a "trap," a deadly, mind-numbing, enslaving sort of trap. But if that is what you want, why not consider a nice, stable government job? For the rest of us, the "fool's quest" of an information-based economy offers astonishing possibilities for growth, change, transformation.
Does this term mean the same thing as productivity? It seems like it but I wonder if there is a difference.It means the same thing. I simply use the older term.
But there IS a way to measure financial services sold.I admire your steadfast optimism, I suppose. But no, alas, there really isn't, or at least not a way that economists and market analysts agree on, and our import-export data fails to account for it. Manufacturing is easy. Simple double entry book keeping will suffice to relate incomes and outflows and costs and liabilities and assets etc. But how do you quantify an asset like a skilled CPA who manages a joint-trust and trades derivatives? Answer: you can't.
Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree here. I ran a technology company and got out in time. Knowledge based companies are the most easily transportable (broadband you know).I'm not barking up any tree. My points do not depend on what you do or do not do. And, yes, of course knowledge based companies are transportable. If that bothers you, then get you a comfortable government job. Find a place where you feel comfortable and veg. The rest of us will meet the challenge. Some will succeed, others fail. That's life etc. That's also how an active, vibrant, growing economy works, by constantly renewing itself.
Is the skilled CPA an asset or a unit of labor, albeit very "valuable?" Until his/her management produces wealth, the asset, it seems to me, is worth nothing. Rao's (and I suppose others by now) valuation of assets using immediate, intermediate, and final cash flows, rather than CAPM is persuasive to me that the "asset's" value is zero. When it rises, the value can be computed from the return. But, I am a neophyte and am sure that I am too simplistic.
That's what I believe. Not because I think it's right or wrong, ideal or troublesome, but just because I observe it is so. To me it just isn't safe or sensible to believe otherwise. The poster was asking how come so many Americans are saddled with debt. I would argue it is because they have unrealistic expectations and choose to live well beyond their means. If I go out and spend a million dollars on credit, you can't blame the economy for not providing me a million dollar job (though you might question the bankthat gave me the line of credit.) If you lose your job tomorrow, are you prepared. I ask myself that question every day. And I am not counting on having an employer when I hit my 40s. By then I will need to be entirely on my own. People don't plan realistically. They don't adapt. They stick their hand out and complain. Grandma was right. The world doesn't owe you a living.
Has anyone anticipated the fact that sooner or later the dirt poor workers in these countries may realize they can push the envelope of wages themselves to raise their own standard of living? What happens beyond the point of diminishing returns? Will those jobs begin to reappear here? or do you think that because of the preponderence of weak and corrupt governments in those areas their wages will always be depressed? I'm no economist and don't pretend to be one, but was wondering if anyone has thought that far ahead yet or are we too busy raking in the profits? Any thoughts?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.