Here is an interesting op-ed from David Brooks. Brooks cites several statistics that are totally news to me. Mostly, that China has lost many more manufacturing jobs since the 80s than America, even when you consider population. And also, that the value of American manufacturing has actually gone up since the 80s. Brooks' analysis: that manufacturing is being changed more by technology in the Information Age than global outsourcing. Companies can make more with fewer, more skilled people. This can't change. Politicians who wave their hands and speak about trade agreements are just pandering and grandstanding, trying to tell a story that casts them as the solution to a problem that does not really exist.
Posted by matt at May 5, 2008 4:50 PM | TrackBack