Be good to all the losers
Globalization, or trade liberalization more specifically, walks a fine line between improving our overall quality of life and costing large groups of people their jobs. Just ask the automakers in Detroit. We know that people who lose their jobs to trade pay a higher economic penalty than those who lose them for non-trade reasons. A new OECD Observer article makes an excellent case for a compensation/adjustment program that doesn't distinguish between the two groups. Now to convince politicians to stop beating up on the outsourcing boogeyman and start providing meaningful support to job losers.
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"Just ask the automakers in Detroit. "
Is it outsourcing when Nissan workers in Smyrna,Tennessee, or Honda workers in Marysville, Ohio, displace GM workers in Michigan?
In 2005, the number of automobiles produced in the U.S. was about 10 percent below the all-time high of 1999. But the 2005 production still exceeded that of any year prior to 1999. Furthermore, most of the reduction was due to declines in U.S. sales since 1999, not because of increased imports.
I recently toured the GM assembly plant in Arlington, TX. The guide pointed out that, though production remained high, automation had reduced greatly the number of workers. Such functions as painting and mounting of tires, formerly labor intensivce activities, now required only computer operators.
The reduction in auto assembly workers in the U.S. was caused by productivity increases, not by imports.
Posted by: JohnDewey | Nov 3, 2006 6:21:20 AM