Our leaders seem to be wracking their brains on how to come up with more jobs. Unfortunately it will be difficult to create new jobs while maintaining the great prices on the stuff we need and want. Cheap prices on goods are dependent on us being able to outsource manufacturing to countries where workers work for lower wages. If we want to bring those jobs here we are going to need to add tariffs to imported goods so that companies manufacturing goods in the US can compete.
Politicians aren’t going to add tariffs to imported goods because it means sacrificing our lifestyle. The very rich benefit from free trade by being to outsource labor, which decreases production costs. The poor and middle class benefit by being able to afford more stuff for less money. No politician is going to vote for tariffs because we would not elect such a politician. The only people that would elect such a politician would be the ones looking for work, and that population will not be large enough to drive an election until they outnumber the people working.
Therefore we’re left looking elsewhere for jobs. We are spending government money on clean energy and now on tourism, all in an effort to generate jobs. The US deficit has now surpassed our GDP. Luckily politicians recently rejected the 1.2 Trillion dollar increase in the debt ceiling.
Some politicians suggest giving tax breaks to large companies that buy equipment here in the US, hoping that will entice them to move their labor force here. There are many options that may create jobs, most of which translate in increasing the national debt. The inconvenient truth is that we probably will never pick the best option because we are not willing to sacrifice our standard of living.
2 comments:
A very insightful post Bill... I think most of the people who criticize the fact that jobs are outsourced don't understand how outsourcing affects prices prices and your article goes a long way towards bringing clarity. I remember Piers Morgan asking why Apple is outsourcing its manufacturing while Americans need jobs. Suze Orman explained that outsourcing keeps products affordable, which is the same thing you're saying.
Thanks for the comment Leonard. That's exactly right. No one wants to see higher prices for the stuff they want--it hurts big business to sell at higher prices and it hurts the consumer because they can afford less. We need to figure out a way to get people to buy US-made products. The cost of US products is not their selling point, but their novelty could be. Not many people own a US made hand bag for instance.
Post a Comment