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Let me get this straight. Companies are moving jobs overseas in part because most of the growth in the world economy is happening in emerging markets and American companies cannot be competitive there if they have to pay American wages and ship the product there. So, American firms create jobs in foreign markets, denominate their costs in the lower wages there, and then can fight on price to win market share in these growing markets. They bring the profits home. If they fail to compete there, then their competitors use that home court advantage to build economies of scale and then compete with them in the American manufacturers traditional home markets.
Example, in the weakness of the American car manufacturers, India's Tata Industries has launched cars here, well made cars, and they are going to push the Americans out of the market within a decade unless something is done. There was that little matter of them buying a couple of badges last week in Europe as well.
So, Hillary proposes that we penalize American companies that are at least keeping part of the pie and ask them and the sectors of the American economy (including you) to pay wages to give blue collar workers the illusion of a job, even if they are uncompetitive. As a consequence, she proposes that the parts of the American economy that do work and ensures that they also cannot survive in the long term.
Are the news services filled with economists talking about just how fundamentally stupid this idea is?
Say all you want about banana republics, but it must have been a lot cheaper for Mugabe to give away a few tractors in Zimbabwe than buying votes this way. OK, he didn't win the election, but it was much cheaper. True dat. OK, he bankrupted his country first. You got me there. At least the American economy isn't bankrupted.
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