Capitalists are moving the wealth workers have created (e.g. the means to produce goods) to more lucrative areas of exploitation where other members of our class-- poverty stricken workers, to be sure-- sell their labour time for less. The rat-race is a race to the bottom. The winners remain rats.
Capital goes international, while wage-slaves, in the so-called First World, are left with their nationalistic beliefs and progressively sell more and more of their skills and time to service providing capitalists. "Well," the class-clueless liberals can say (with national guilt), "We gave them BIBLES and beads in exchange for their land and their wealth. Turn-around is fair play." Just another reason to dump the bosses their system off our backs, IMO. For the works! Mike B) --- Eugene Coyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Martin Hart-Landsberg asked: > > >I have a question about the U.S. economy and a > comment to make about > >FDI to the third world. > > > >We all know the U.S. is running a huge and growing > trade deficit. > >Moreover, the manufacturing sector has lost jobs > for some thirty-five > >consecutive months. That is pretty amazing. My > question: are these > >developments tied and can we confidently say that > the U.S. industrial > >sector has been hollowed out? In other words has > the job loss been > >largely the result of the continually increasing > import of manufactured > >goods, many of which are produced by U.S. firms in > other countries? > >And has this development gone long enough that > there has been > >significant structural damage to U.S. manufacturing > such that it is > >unlikely that anything, including a falling dollar, > will promote its > >renewal? Or is it just productivity that is > causing this job loss or > >is it ...? > > > >I would really like to know what people think about > this. > > > Louis Uchitelle writes in Sunday's NYT in answer: > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > August 17, 2003 > > > > ECONOMIC VIEW > > > > > > Factories Move Abroad, as Does U.S. Power > > > > By LOUIS UCHITELLE > > > > > > ANUFACTURING is slowly disappearing in the United > States. That does > > not mean we should rush to preserve the remaining > factories as > > historic landmarks. America will still be a > manufacturing power in our > > grandchildren's lifetime, but that status is > gradually eroding. > > > > Why does this matter? Well, the essence of a great > world power is its > > edge in producing not services but manufactured > products that other > > people want -- Boeing's > > > <http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=BA> > > airliners, for example, Intel's > > > <http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=INTC> > > semiconductors and Caterpillar's earth-moving > equipment. To the extent > > this output passes to foreign manufacturers, or > even to Americans > > operating abroad, we lose the means to buy what > we, in turn, want from > > others. > > > > More than half of the manufactured goods that > Americans buy are made > > abroad, up from 31 percent in 1987. If we continue > on our path of > > ceasing to make merchandise that others want to > buy from us, the > > danger is that these imports will be unaffordable > for our descendants. > > > > For that to happen, "you have to assume that > manufacturing will > > continue to disappear," said David Heuther, chief > economist at the > > National Association of Manufacturers. He does not > make that > > assumption himself. He contends that America's > high-tech advantage and > > its ingenuity will sustain the nation's > manufacturing base. > > > > Maybe. Right now, however, the exodus continues, > at a stepped-up pace, > > government data show. The proportion of the work > force employed in > > manufacturing has fallen to 11 percent from 30 > percent in the > > mid-1960's. Two of the 19 percentage points > disappeared in just the > > last 28 months. On another level, manufacturing's > share of real gross > > domestic product -- representing all the goods and > services produced > > in the United States -- has edged down, even > including in the count > > the output of foreign manufacturers operating > here. The share of real > > G.D.P. has dropped to between 16 and 17 percent, > from 18 to 19 percent > > in the 1950's. > > > > Given manufacturing's importance in maintaining > our status as a world > > power, the downward trends are alarming. The > public, nevertheless, > > focuses only occasionally on the dismantling. It > does so when lots of > > people are suddenly hurt, as they were in the > early 1980's, when an > > onslaught of high-quality foreign imports > coincided with a severe > > recession. The combination forced plant closings > and layoffs on a > > scale not experienced since the Depression. > > > > "Rust belt" and "deindustrialization" were coined > in the bitter debate > > that surrounded that frightening national > experience. Those were the > > years when wage inequality became too persistent > to ignore. Blame fell > > partly on the destruction of factory jobs, and the > relatively high > > wages earned by those workers. > > > > Two decades later, the shrinking manufacturing > sector is again a > > source of public agitation, this time because so > many American > > manufacturers are decamping to China and India, > where they employ > > increasingly skilled but inexpensive workers to > make merchandise that > > is then shipped back to the United States, > swelling imports and > > subtracting jobs at home. > > > > What's to be done? Many economists bank on the > marketplace for a > > solution. They note that the growing volume of > imported merchandise > > would not be possible without loans from abroad to > buy these goods. As > > this debt balloons, foreigners will lose > confidence in the United > > States as a place to put their money, these > economists reason. As > > foreigners retreat, their demand for dollars to > lend to America will > > drop off, and so will the dollar's value. > > > > > > HAT will make imported manufactured goods > prohibitively expensive, > > while merchandise exported from the United States > will fall in price, > > when sold in yen or euros. Responding to this > price incentive, > > manufacturers will rebuild in America, says George > A. Akerlof, a Nobel > > laureate who is an economist at the University of > California at > > Berkeley. "Manufacturing has to come back," he > said. No other sector > > is likely to be as responsive to dollar > devaluation. > > > > For Mr. Akerlof, retooling is the easy part. Other > experts disagree. > > Too many products are no longer manufactured here, > they argue, and the > > skill to make them has disappeared. Resurrecting > that skill is > > difficult. Dollar devaluation does not easily > overcome that barrier. > > Nor does it easily woo back American companies > that have invested huge > > sums in large, modern facilities abroad. Getting > them to abandon those > > facilities and rebuild in the United States might > require an outsized > > 60 percent devaluation of the dollar as an > incentive, says Daniel > > Luria, an economist at the Michigan Manufacturing > Technology Center in > > Plymouth. > > > > The fallout would be painful. The Nissan Maxima, > made in Japan, that I > > bought in 2000 for $25,000 would cost at least > $40,000 to replace. > > That's over my head. > > > > > > > ===== ***************************************************************** Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence. http://profiles.yahoo.com/swillsqueal __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
