From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Tue Sep 03 2002 - 08:56:32 MDT
>From: Max More <max@maxmore.com>
>Brian D Williams:
>An article in todays IBD (Investors Business Daily) indicates we
>are losing high-productivity jobs to overseas at a rate of 400,000
>annually.
>Is that loss from current industries, or net?
They seem to be claiming both, current and net.
>>Per capita income growth is under attack from two factors,
>>exporting high-productivity jobs and importing low-productivity
>>people.
>I find this extremely hard to believe. Productivity growth has
>increased over the last decade. Even after multiple revisions,
>this trend holds. How do you square that with the above claim?
The above doesn't mention productivity, but per capita income
growth. In real dollars (pre-inflation adjusted) it's been stagnant
for most people for more than a decade.
>>This of course means the tax revenue from these jobs is lost
>>permanently.
>Not if the lost high-productivity jobs are replaced with different
>high productivity jobs, as has been the case throughout history in
>largely market economies (not without painful adjustments in many
>cases).
The article is claiming that this is not occurring. Current high
productivity jobs are being lost to overseas and their related high
productivity complements are being developed overseas as a result.
Importing cheap high productivity labor via H1-B visas is an
additional source.
>>Somebody notify congress.
>Oh, yes, that'll fix the problem! Those economic geniuses can
>always be relied on the solve our problems.
That was supposed to be sarcasm, narrow bandwidth problem...
Although they should be notified that they will have less to spend.
>Many of the following comments on this thread could be rewritten,
>replacing current job losses with earlier losses in agriculture,
>textiles, and so on. The lack of economic historical perspective
>startles me.
The article does tend to be written from a short term perspective,
but the problems indicated are real.
The economy is not currently supporting job growth in line with
current job losses so the economy will contract.
Since we have more workers than jobs this will hold down wages.
>Am I on the right list???
Yep, misunderstanding I think.
Brian
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