As one of the world's few advanced capitalist societies, the United States is currently in danger of reverting to a 20th century style economic scheme. The Democrats are traveling through the rust belt emphasizing the troubles that globalization has created for the manufacturing workers there. They promise the return of their jobs and make callous calls to stop exporting grunt work to China, Eastern Europe, and Mexico. But is that really where we want to go? It seems ironic that the same party which wants to take it easy on illegal immigrants is raising xenophobic fears about people in other countries working in labor jobs. Honestly, that seems quite....Republican.
It's widely understood that the average citizen, in any country, cares about themselves and their families first. So its expected that blue collar workers who haven't seen a consistent job or union paycheck in some 15 odd years would be disgruntled about their jobs being shipped overseas. However, the Democrats need to spread the message that globalization can be beneficial if the government took the right steps to help the middle class survive. Currently we ship jobs overseas and do nothing to bridge the gap between being an industrial economy to becoming a service oriented one. Ultimately, that is where advanced capitalist states end up.
But instead of talking about what the government is willing to do to help these families and regions succeed in the new economy, the pander to the fear and xenophobia that already exists. They say China is stealing their jobs and taking food off their tables. Where, in fact, we make goods cheaper because we export our manufacturing to developing nations. Why are things like cars and consumer goods consistent in price, save inflation, when things that aren't exportable, such as movie tickets and college tuition, have increased dramatically in the last decade? If we kept manufacturing in the US, the wages that the workers were paid wouldn't be able to pay for the goods that were still made here.
What the candidates, Democrats or Republicans, need to do is explain the logistics of the global economy to the American people and give them ways to help bridge the gap. The government needs to invest in infrastructure and industries that aren't constricted to certain geographical areas. Michigan has launched an enormous campaign aimed at attracting internet startup companies to operate there. They have passed legislation that provides that industry with an advantage and it seems like more and more companies are moving there. At the same time, the government needs to find more ways of getting people into college. An advanced economy is going to require its population to be educated to get jobs. We have to make college more affordable and accessible to the common person by giving tuition breaks to people who are willing to spend time doing community service or join the peace corps. We could increase the amount of ROTC scholarships so kids can get through college, serve their obligation, then enter the market with military experience and a college degree. By doing these two things, we can provide the labor market with more jobs so that current blue collar workers can send their children to school to succeed in the new economy.
These measure are not easy. Transitioning economies are painful processes and people do get left behind. Just look at India and China where the growth rate is phenomenal but there are shanty towns standing adjacent to skyscrapers. Those two nations realize that they need to give people a segue into the 21st century and they've invested in infrastructure to give less educated workers jobs to get them on a payroll somewhere. Its time that our politicians realize that pandering to xenophobic emotions will only set our economy backwards into the 1970s and not forward into the current century. America's power and wealth has always come from its ideas and ingenuity as well as hard work. Its time we stop blaming other people for our financial woes and start doing the things that can keep us on top. Lets do the things that made us great in the past to make us great in the future.
Editors Note: In this week's The Economist magazine (March 1st issue), there is a lead editorial discussing the pitfalls of the Democratic economic plan for the United States thus far proposed by the candidates. Check it out here.
Editor's Note: Jagdish Bhagwati, an economics professor at Columbia, recently wrote about the Democratic candidates' respective acumen on economic issues. Professor Bhagwati has written for such outlets as The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs Magazine, and The New York Times. He has also spoken at the John F. Kennedy School for Government and at the World Trade Organization.
It's widely understood that the average citizen, in any country, cares about themselves and their families first. So its expected that blue collar workers who haven't seen a consistent job or union paycheck in some 15 odd years would be disgruntled about their jobs being shipped overseas. However, the Democrats need to spread the message that globalization can be beneficial if the government took the right steps to help the middle class survive. Currently we ship jobs overseas and do nothing to bridge the gap between being an industrial economy to becoming a service oriented one. Ultimately, that is where advanced capitalist states end up.
But instead of talking about what the government is willing to do to help these families and regions succeed in the new economy, the pander to the fear and xenophobia that already exists. They say China is stealing their jobs and taking food off their tables. Where, in fact, we make goods cheaper because we export our manufacturing to developing nations. Why are things like cars and consumer goods consistent in price, save inflation, when things that aren't exportable, such as movie tickets and college tuition, have increased dramatically in the last decade? If we kept manufacturing in the US, the wages that the workers were paid wouldn't be able to pay for the goods that were still made here.
What the candidates, Democrats or Republicans, need to do is explain the logistics of the global economy to the American people and give them ways to help bridge the gap. The government needs to invest in infrastructure and industries that aren't constricted to certain geographical areas. Michigan has launched an enormous campaign aimed at attracting internet startup companies to operate there. They have passed legislation that provides that industry with an advantage and it seems like more and more companies are moving there. At the same time, the government needs to find more ways of getting people into college. An advanced economy is going to require its population to be educated to get jobs. We have to make college more affordable and accessible to the common person by giving tuition breaks to people who are willing to spend time doing community service or join the peace corps. We could increase the amount of ROTC scholarships so kids can get through college, serve their obligation, then enter the market with military experience and a college degree. By doing these two things, we can provide the labor market with more jobs so that current blue collar workers can send their children to school to succeed in the new economy.
These measure are not easy. Transitioning economies are painful processes and people do get left behind. Just look at India and China where the growth rate is phenomenal but there are shanty towns standing adjacent to skyscrapers. Those two nations realize that they need to give people a segue into the 21st century and they've invested in infrastructure to give less educated workers jobs to get them on a payroll somewhere. Its time that our politicians realize that pandering to xenophobic emotions will only set our economy backwards into the 1970s and not forward into the current century. America's power and wealth has always come from its ideas and ingenuity as well as hard work. Its time we stop blaming other people for our financial woes and start doing the things that can keep us on top. Lets do the things that made us great in the past to make us great in the future.
Editors Note: In this week's The Economist magazine (March 1st issue), there is a lead editorial discussing the pitfalls of the Democratic economic plan for the United States thus far proposed by the candidates. Check it out here.
Editor's Note: Jagdish Bhagwati, an economics professor at Columbia, recently wrote about the Democratic candidates' respective acumen on economic issues. Professor Bhagwati has written for such outlets as The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs Magazine, and The New York Times. He has also spoken at the John F. Kennedy School for Government and at the World Trade Organization.
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