Guru of economics does an about-turn on free trade

Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) ^ | Tuesday, October 19, 2004 | Jay Bhattacharjee

[oceanview]

yes.

can that last? is real estate a productive segment of the economy? can we all get rich swapping real estate, or financial instruments, to one and other, at ever higher prices? sure, some people can do very well at it, and we need those jobs too. but at its core, you have to have a productive sector of the economy, its the well from which all the other water is drawn.

[gcruse]

Nonsense.
You're wrongly attributing cause and effect.

Heh.  I didn't write that.  If you'll follow the link, it goes to the US State Department.  

[sarcasm]

Left-wingers excel at unproven theory

American protectionism was right wing doctrine before the advent of the globalists.

[oceanview]

if you look at what the US exports - you will find your answer. agricultural products and consumer non-durables (soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste), they are buying those like crazy.

Buy Archer Daniels Midland, and Proctor & Gamble stocks.

[Moonman62]

People I know are doing real estate or mortgage brokering part time while running their own business. They go where the opportunities are. A person must be flexible and take risks. I've learned that the hard way. I prefer to FReep but it doesn't pay very well.

[oceanview]

here is the thing about China - just one whiff of geopolitical instability in the country, and the current "giant sucking sound" of US investment headed over there - will turn around in a heartbeat.

[oceanview]

I know, but can we build a productive economy around mortgage brokers and real estate agents?

[gcruse]

A lot of times when you lose a job -- no matter if you're over 40 or over 30, you're so worried trying to save your home and pay other bills, you don't enroll in a University -- no time or tuition money.

My industry, photofinishing, consolidated itself out of existence thanks to the anti-competitive practices of Eastman Kodak and onslaught of digital photography.  I've been there, and have gone to school nights -- even while working full time.   I had the GI Bill to help, and was paid by my employer another time. Sitting around worrying is more expensive than school.

[Lloyd227]

"Can anyone think of an industry that we are presently the most productive in, but that also has seen widespread movement to foreign countries? "

Basic/bulk programming and software development.

[Moonman62]

I know, but can we build a productive economy around mortgage brokers and real estate agents?

Of course not, but our GDP and productivity keep going up so something's going right. I suggest looking at the number of new business startups. People who do lose their jobs to outsourcing get retraining and education benefits and many of them get better jobs.

[Willie Green]

If you'll follow the link, it goes to the US State Department.

LOL! As if the State Department is a credible source of economic history.
Powell never did clean out that rat's nest of left-wing globo-weenies, did he?

[lucysmom]

It is the lack of will of Americans to educate themselves in new career fields. George Bush had it right all long in the debates when he spoke of education being the key to evolving the jobs market, and America. But, people expect the government to hand jobs to them.

I did just that in my thirties. Now that I am in my fifties, I no longer have the physical stamina to work and go back to college again, nor the money. While Bush touts education, getting that education has become more expensive and out of reach for more and more people.

Having to retool for a new career while supporting and caring for a family is pretty near an impossible task.

I fear that it is the countries that are willing to make investments in its people that will prosper while those that do not will fall further and further behind.

[Jaysun]

Basic/bulk programming and software development

They've become more productive, or more technologically advanced? Either way, is it because we've had an open trade policy? I wouldn't think so.

[MissAmericanPie]

Look, Free Trade is not free, it's artificially manipulated against the USofA. It's a horrible idea. China artificially deflates it's money instead of letting it rise to true value.

Brazil accuses us of retaliation for placing tariffs on their exports, just because they place tariffs on our goods coming into Brazil. They are saying, never mind that we are unfair to you, it's mean for you to protect yourselves by reciprocating.

Free Trade is a lose, lose, for the American worker. Of all these new jobs that have been "created", most are at poverty level on the pay scale and a full half of these jobs have been filled by immigrants.

Genie in the bottle my foot. There are simple ways to cram him back in his bottle, and it must be done. Sure the American worker is "flexible", but flexibility is impossible when there is no living wage jobs to be had. Bush talks about new jobs as medical techs, and that is the only field that has openings and won't take long to fill the need, then what?

This hemorrhage of manufacturing and industry must stop.

[gcruse]

Since Powell himself is a weenie, I'm not surprised he left others in place. Don't you wish a change in government was really a change in government? When the CIA is a war with the president you know how impossible it must be to actually get anything done from the WH.

[ex-snook]

Having to retool for a new career

Retool for what? The big growth areas are Government and health care [paid by the government]. Take a civil service exam, become a nurse or move to a Red State where life is not affected by outsourcing.

[Willie Green]

Since Powell himself is a weenie, I'm not surprised he left others in place. Don't you wish a change in government was really a change in government?

Well a big AMEN to that, anyway!

[JerseyHighlander]

Bump for later.

[lucysmom]

337,000 Jobs!!!

From the BLS: 71,000 of those jobs were in construction (thank you hurricanes!); the labor force grew by 367,000 people in October (30,000 fewer jobs were created than people entering the labor force); Government created in the neighborhood of 70,000 of these new jobs (so much for shrinking government).

[Jaysun]

Then why do we get larger and larger trade deficits?

The whole idea that a "trade deficit" is a bad thing is nonsense. Nations do not trade with each other; people do. Every international transaction that Americans engage in will, by definition, leave both parties to the transaction believing they are better off than before - otherwise the transaction would not occur. By this measure, the "balance of trade" is always positive, benefiting the nation as a whole.

One reason that our "trade deficit" is higher is that we have a hell of a lot more money to spend than anyone else does. That's not a bad thing.

I would argue that a "trade deficit" is a good thing. Trade deficits signify growing consumer demand and expanding investment opportunities. Indeed, those that advocate a smaller trade deficit should first realize the following:

*Industrial production in the United States has climbed steadily in the past two decades during a time of historically large U.S. trade deficits.
*Larger trade deficits correlate positively with FALLING unemployment. As an expanding economy creates jobs, it also creates demand for imports and for capital from abroad.