
Is Globalization to Blame? - FuNe
http://bostonreview.net/forum/dean-baker-globalization-blame
======
derriz
I'm unconvinced by this article for a number of reasons.

The significance placed on trade deficits always struck me as somewhat
misguided so the author's uncritical focus on this crude metric is off
putting. In aggregate, inward and outward flows have to match by definition.
If an American company builds and sells a car to a foreigner this reduces the
US deficit but if it builds and sells a house to a foreigner, then this has
the effect of increasing it. So in the modern world, running a trade deficit
just means you are selling more things like houses than cars.

If running a trade deficit was impoverishing, then you'd imagine that the two
lists of countries with the biggest trade deficits and surpluses
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current_a...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current_account_balance)
) would be dominated by the poorest and richest countries respectively. But
they are not - it just depends on the economic specialities of the countries.

Also I am suspicious of anyone who uses a dismissive phrase like "so called
experts" as part of their argument. In my experience, this generally is a
strong signal that the author has a very superficial understanding of the
subject. Not that I claim any expertise in the area.

~~~
crdoconnor
Trade deficit isn't a good indicator for overall jobs but it's a good
indicator for where all of the manufacturing jobs have gone and by extension
why the labor force participation rate in the US is so low.

~~~
fuzzfactor
This seems easy to agree with.

Trade imbalances quoted in US dollars reveal what merchants are dealing with,
in terms of local currency.

When traders start suffering, you can be sure there are some underlying
workers that are relatively devastated.

------
crdoconnor
"As it stands, almost nothing has been done in this era of trade
liberalization to reduce the barriers protecting our most highly paid
professionals."

tl;dr Dean Baker wants to respond to the impoverishment of manufacturing
workers by impoverishing professional service workers.

"In generating savings from freer trade in the labor of doctors and lawyers
and so on, we would also be promoting equality"

People like him are why Trump is now in power.

~~~
nine_k
Outsourcing factory work is relatively simple: if you have, or can cheaply
train, reasonably qualified workers at a remote location, you can build /
upgrade a factory, ship raw materials in, ship the product out. This applies
well to things like garments or electronics, much less well to e.g. fruit and
vegetables that are perishable.

Outsourcing medial work is theoretically about as simple, but for a few buts.
Much of medical work, from nurses' to surgeons' to dentists', is highly local
and real-time. Tele-surgerly is possible, though, and probably talking to a
patient can be done entirely remotely. But this supposes that a patient and a
doctor speak a common language well, which in many cases is tricky (and
factory workers don't need this).

Outsourcing lawyer work requires, besides a common language, a deep
understanding of foreign law codes _and_ a good understanding of foreign daily
life and practices. This is, of course, attainable for a determined remote
lawyer, but I don't see why it may happen to be cheaper than attaining the
same level of education and experience for a local. As of cost of living,
places like upstate Nebraska are quite inexpensive! Showing up in court is
harder for a remote attorney, but probably tele-presence could help somehow.

I suppose that importing doctors and lawyers would not help lower the costs
much. Doctors in the US are expensive not (only) because clueful, experienced
people are rare, but because the supply is (or was) limited.

~~~
crdoconnor
>I suppose that importing doctors and lawyers would not help lower the costs
much. Doctors in the US are expensive not (only) because clueful, experienced
people are rare, but because the supply is (or was) limited.

What exactly do you think would happen to the price if supply increased?

Doctors are also expensive because of malpractice insurance. Finance gets a
big cut.

~~~
nine_k
An "imported" doctor needs to get US certifications, and _that 's_ a limiting
factor. With enough protections in place, the increase of supply may be
seriously delayed or even not happen.

~~~
crdoconnor
>An "imported" doctor needs to get US certifications, and that's a limiting
factor.

Yeah, that's the factor Dean Baker wanted eliminated.

------
fuzzfactor
Well, it's certainly not blameless.

Edit: It also seems common to misplace fault in many directions while ignoring
the influence of globalization completely.

