During this electoral year, there isn’t much that democrats or republicans can agree on. One exception is that both parties agree economic growth is inevitable for the next 12 months. Today October 8, 2004 a Job Growth report was published. The report found growth to be not as substantial as was anticipated for the month of September. The democrats are blaming the lack of growth on the republicans, and the republicans are blaming the bad weather in Florida. Regardless, new jobs fell short of expectations. In the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday, Edwards suggested many jobs were lost do to outsourcing of American jobs to a global labor force. This statement drew a bit of a question. In a perfectly competitive marketplace isn’t the greatest optimal market the one in which has the lowest cost perpetuating the highest return? Wouldn’t the outsourcing of jobs be considered a strictly profit seeking motive which would in turn yield a benefit to all Americans?
source: http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6205119
3 comments:
Outsourcing is beneficial to all America as a whole, but the Democrats are trying to strike a sympathetic cord for the poor assembly line worker that lost his over paid unionized job to a better educated lower paid Asian worker.
The blame for outsourcing really should lie with the labor unions.
Comparative advantage is a term that most Americans are not familiar with. This election year is showing those of us that have taken an econ. class, that the Democrats are trying taking advantage of this fact. They call the American people to look at the job losses to overseas companies and by doing so make the Bush/Cheney ticket backpeddle while trying to find something to blame it on rather than just coming out once and for all and telling the public that job outsourcing is okay because other countries are doing the same thing here. Doing so would be political suicide for any politician, icumbent or otherwise.
It's odd, but essentially correct, that the candidates think the economy will be alright over the next 12 months. This is odd because the index of leading indicators suggests a recession is coming next spring. This isn't a very good predictor, but it is about the best we have.
As to outsourcing, yes it should benefit the country as a whole. But Edwards isn't appealing to the country as a whole - he's appealing to its individual members.
I would not blame labor unions for outsourcing Pramahaphil. Unions are just not very pervasive in this country - and they are more common in the public sector (which doesn't tend to outsource).
BTW: is "wonkian" a word Peter_Parker? I doubt it - but I like it anyway!
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