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What too many people here don't realize is that America's economic future simply is not in manufacturing. I'm not sure what you all want the government to do when you say things like 'stop outsourcing.'
What too many people everywhere don't realize is that in nine of the top ten manufacturing economies in the world, manufacturing employment has fallen since 2000, while manufacturing output has increased. China, for instance, has lost about 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000. Hint: It isn't outsourcing that is driving declines in manufacturing employment. We have seen this sort of thing before. Think what agricultural employment used to be. Think what it is now. What happened to agricultural output at the same time?
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Originally Posted by Ever Adrift
Attempting to cling to old manufacturing jobs just means our economy will fall further and further behind in terms of technology, human capital, innovation, efficiency, productivity, etc. We should be investing in new, high-value added sectors of the economy, promoting new industries and improving out education system to meet the demands of the modern economy.
What too many people everywhere don't realize is that in nine of the top ten manufacturing economies in the world, manufacturing employment has fallen since 2000, while manufacturing output has increased. China, for instance, has lost about 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000. Hint: It isn't outsourcing that is driving declines in manufacturing employment. We have seen this sort of thing before. Think what agricultural employment used to be. Think what it is now. What happened to agricultural output at the same time?
Technological innovation leads to dramatic improvements in productivity even as employment declines. The development process in every country eventually witnesses a steady decline in agricultural employment and a decline in agriculture's share of total GDP even as productivity (and total output) increases at a dramatic rate. Agricultural employment eventually stabilizes once rural incomes 'catch up' to urban incomes (ie. when the average farmer makes as much as the average non-farmer). The same thing can happen with the industrial sector, though not to the same degree (developed countries witness agriculture's share of employment stabilize at well under 5%, that doesn't happen, or at least hasn't happened, with industry). However, outsourcing does occur and can account for some, though by no means all,of the decline in manufacturing employment here in the US. It is the service sector that must pick up most of the slack. What we need to concern ourselves with as a country is not how to stop outsourcing (or the decline of manufacturing as a source of employment more generally) but rather how to promote the growth of more competitive, labor-using industries. We need to improve education, gear more people towards the service sector and industries requiring higher levels of expertise, among other things.
One thing is certain: quotas, subsidies, tariffs, etc. are not the answer, even though I have a feeling many people posting in this thread think they are.
In comments reported by Bloomberg, Farr added that companies will continue adding jobs in China and India because they are "places where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do something. I am not going to hire anybody in the United States. I'm moving. They are doing everything possible to destroy jobs."
It is the truth.
We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We are "unfriendly" to business. The unions have destroyed the manufacturing sector in this country.
We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We are "unfriendly" to business. The unions have destroyed the manufacturing sector in this country.
I find it really interesting how you go from blaming outsourcing on taxes to blaming it on unions; take your pick, which is it? And after you take your pick do yourself a favor and pick up an economics textbook and do some reading...
It is both. The cost of doing business, which includes taxes and labor, is too high.
I suggest you start with Econ 101.
I'm a PhD student minoring in agricultural economics; I'm qualified to teach Econ 101. I'd like to see your responses to my other posts, if you care to do so.
It is the truth. We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We are "unfriendly" to business. The unions have destroyed the manufacturing sector in this country.
Maybe get in the pool before trying to swim. The US has one of the highest NOMINAL corporate tax rates among major developed countries in the world, and one of the lowest EFFECTIVE corporate tax rates. The UK, France, and Russia are lower. That's pretty much going to be it.
Meanwhile, the rise of unions paralleled the rise of the middle class. The decline of unions has paralleled the decline of the middle class. Nice...
I'm a PhD student minoring in agricultural economics; I'm qualified to teach Econ 101. I'd like to see your responses to my other posts, if you care to do so.
I'm not interested in your responses to other posts...just this one. Do you realize that taxes and labor a part of the cost of doing business or did you misspeak on the issue, here;
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I find it really interesting how you go from blaming outsourcing on taxes to blaming it on unions; take your pick, which is it? And after you take your pick do yourself a favor and pick up an economics textbook and do some reading...
What we need to concern ourselves with as a country is not how to stop outsourcing (or the decline of manufacturing as a source of employment more generally) but rather how to promote the growth of more competitive, labor-using industries. We need to improve education, gear more people towards the service sector and industries requiring higher levels of expertise, among other things.
Could you explain why we don't need more manufacturing jobs and instead promote service sector jobs?
I've been hearing this for the last 30 years or so, and look where it put us. In a mega-trade deficit with China, putting China in the economic driver's seat with no way out. The only way to make money in a service only economy is the "bubbles" we've been experiencing for the last, oh, 30 years or so (starting with the savings-and-loan debacle).
I don't understand how you can make money from outside the US through service jobs instead of manufacturing. Thanks to the internet, many service job classes which could make money outside of the US turned out to be fungible (software programming, for example) and easily shipped out.
Could have fooled me since no one complained until after 20 Jan 2009.
Don't know where you get your source of news, but obviously you didn't listen to steel companies and workers in the 1970's. They've been complaining at that time!!!
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