Conventional Economic Wisdom?

[Union Thug]

Ok, this is the third time I've heard this this week. The following article states,

"..."outsourcing" American jobs overseas was good for the U.S. economy in the long run. While that comment is consistent with conventional economic thought..."

Weekly jobless claims fall sharply

Is this "conventional wisdom" some sort of trickle down convention or what? Will someone please explain to me how outsourcing American jobs is good for the economy? ... Unless of course, by "economy" you mean the rich..???

Maybe it all comes back to the question that asks NOT what's good for the 'economomy' but rather what's good for the worker? The question should ask "who is the economy working for?"

Anyway, I'm rambling... Thanks in advance for your help.

[brokensymmetry]

1. I wonder...

does it all just depend on what gets measured? If by "good for the economy" we mean that corporate profits go up, then I suppose it is. But if by "good for the economy" we mean that Americans can raise their families with security and dignity, it most certainly is not!

[drthais]

2. I can't stand it anymore

here's the latest
I heard it today when Carville mentioned it on Crossfire
I thought I was halluciniating, but NO
Bush wants to re-classify burger flipping jobs
as MANUFACTURING jobs
so he can say he has added to manufacturing jobs this year
this is way stupid
it's hard to believe

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/20/business/20jobs.html

:puke:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

3. Will they re-define the economy into a Depression?

:wtf:

I guess a cook in any restaurant is now a "manufacturing" position. Or how 'bout a bartender? They "manufacture" drinks!

[drthais]

4. you can spin this

into oblivion....

I manufactured a salad tonight and a loaf of bread
I guess that adds me to the job rolls
in the 'maufacturing' sector

[ochazuke]

10. One thing's fer shur:

This adminstrayshuns manafakcherin BULL! shit.

[CHIMO]

7. I Suppose

That a burger would then be classified as a capital investment.
Just imagine the trickle down effects of write offs? A camera in the can gets you 100%.

Or maybe only 80% as there would still be some recovery value as a fertilizer?

[ochazuke]

9. I think we can use that.

That's gotta be good for another percentage point off the approval level.

His campaign against overtime, and push for illegals to do jobs Americans don't want (like those that don't pay overtime) is a real killer for meat-and-potato types.

[guitar man]

5. "The economy"

The "economy" as defined by the policies of this mis-administration is measured soley by how much the wealthiest "Americans" are profiting.What happens to the average work-a-day American doesn't count for shit to these regressives.

[loudnclear]

6. How come the economy was so good under Clinton without all this

outsourcing? How come when the economy was so good under Kennedy there was no outsourcing? How come the economy is so bad while all this outsourcing is going on?

[drthais]

8. about outsourcing

no, it probably cannot be stopped
and don't let anyone tell you it can
it's the way of the world
It's all about re-tooling
and US citizens understanding
what is coming next (economically speaking)

a sorry state of affairs, maybe
but we need to get smarter about this

[blurp]

11. Depends on the scope

Is this "conventional wisdom" some sort of trickle down convention or what? Will someone please explain to me how outsourcing American jobs is good for the economy? ...

If by "the economy" you mean the global economy, then yes, outsourcing is good for the economy.

The idea is that less resources are being used to create more products or services. Money saved can be spent on additional goods and services. So now with the same money spent on one service here in the US, you can get that service in another country plus additional services paid for with the savings. Globally, that means more is being done with less or the same amount of money.

If you mean just the US, well, now it depends on your place in that economy. If what you provide as a worker here can also be provided by a worker somewhere else at less money, then, for you, it doesn't do much good.

Of course, taken to extremes, one could argue that states or towns shouldn't outsource since it is bad for some in those local economies.

But in the long run, the US is stronger because states and towns and cities do allow their peoples to outsource to other states towns and cities.

The same thing applies to countries around the globe.

[rman]

12. economy is not a measurement of wellbeing of the people

"good for the economy" just means increased volume of economic 'traffic'; more money going around in the economy, which doesn't say anything about who benefits from that.
We could al be slave laborers and the economy would/could be going strong.
Of course the rich can't come out and say it'll benefit them primarily, even though it's obvious that it does. So they play on the apologetisism of the people by saying everyone will benefit - eventually. Very few will doubt the truthfulness of the politicians and the CEO's. It is similar to trickle-down economics, except that there's now ample evidence that during the past 30 years trickle-down did deliver the opposite of what was promised - instead of everyone benefiting, the rich minority got richer and the poor majority got poorer.

[doc03]

13. Please explain this one

I have heard free traders say for every $1 billion in exports we create, I think it is 10000 jobs. So therefore if you have a $500 billion trade deficit how do you not have a net loss of 5,000,000 jobs?