Article on manufacturing and outsourcing

[temp1]

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20040320-102252-2577r.htm

Whacha Whacha Whacha think?

[Heathcliff]

My impression is that his analysis is so superficial and limited as to be worthless. He speaks only of trade balance in relationship to jobs, but there are countless other factors. Maybe Japan is losing manufacturing jobs faster because they are offshoring faster. Maybe our manufacturing is holding up because well paid workers of the past have been displaced by Hispanics making minimum wage, while Germany is losing more jobs because of maintaining $40/hr. wages. Maybe his statistics are as bad as his reasoning.

[jamesrage]

I would have to agree with Heathcliff on this.
It is easy for someone whose job is not affected to claim that outsourcing is a good thing.Some people argue that outsourcing provides cheaper products and that is a good thing,but in reality If 4 or 5 million jobs are outsourced then that is 4 or 5 million people who can not afford to buy cheaper products.Then all that schooling and hard work means means nothing.It is also easy for them to say well they can just find another job,but also in reality there can only be so many doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, accountants, and so on in one area,which will also affect other areas so the idea that they can just move is not feasible.Many who are for outsourcing fail to realize this.

[Demon of Light]

Some people argue that outsourcing provides cheaper products and that is a good thing,but in reality If 4 or 5 million jobs are outsourced then that is 4 or 5 million people who can not afford to buy cheaper products.Then all that schooling and hard work means means nothing.

Most of the jobs being outsourced are manufacturing jobs that are for people with little education. We have plenty of those that can't be moved or replaced by illegal immigrants.

It is also easy for them to say well they can just find another job,but also in reality there can only be so many doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, accountants, and so on in one area,which will also affect other areas so the idea that they can just move is not feasible.

How about Wal*Mart, McDonald's, Malls and other service areas that often don't require much education? These are the types of jobs we have and they can't be outsourced. Illegal immigrants would also only be common for areas in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. So, most of the nation has open service jobs. With constant Starbucks expansion and Wal*Mart's growing market there's plenty of service jobs for the under-educated. The problem is that these are not very good for pay, but neither are manufacturing jobs. The problem would be age and that's not even a big problem for some. However, jobs are coming back. We've probably gained a million jobs since that big drop in jobs. I imagine that, if we can keep this pace up we have now, most of the jobs lost will be recovered this year. In fact, that happened with Bush Sr., but it didn't come in time.

[Diogenes]

The article makes good sense, and is supported in more detail in The Outsourcing Bogeyman (http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501faessay83304/daniel-w-drezner/the-outsourcing-bogeyman.html).

Old jobs go away and new ones come in. I can remember when there were still some manual telephone switchboards in rural areas. Blacksmiths and harness makers have pretty well gone the way of flint knappers and mammoth hunters, too.

[finebead]

The article seems to be so narrowly focused as to be meaningless. What was his point, don't worry about our trade deficit because it has nothing to do with the unemployment rate? In the economy, that's like picking two data points out of 1,000 and trying to draw some conclusion out of it. There are a lot of other factors. Like demographics, education system, political / economic environment, monetary policy for capital formation, public and private debt levels, etc. etc.

I don't find that he states a clear case, so I don't see that he proved anything.