Made in America

Good Morning American has been doing pieces on getting Americans to buy American goods which in turn will create American jobs for some time now. It’s really a neat idea and a feel good idea. It also points out to us how incredibly dependent we are upon foreign markets to maintain our consumer society ways. Its  good to support American small businesses and the free market. No complaints there.

I also read from Martin A Sullivan an article from his www.blog tax.com an article titled, “Why Should Americas Promote Foreign Job Creation?” Sullivan’s point is that multinational corporations play a vital part in our economy. We indeed live in a world economy and we need to appreciate that. We worry about our multinational corporations going to other countries rather than staying here (better corporate tax rates) but that does not seem to be happening.

When we see what is going on in the European markets right now they very much reflect our own problems. We all seem good at mismanagement and not controlling debt and overspending. Yet the key word here is competition. The European and American as well as other world markets need competition to get the best products at the best price; that’s the idea of capitalism. Thus when other countries do well, we can do well as well. Remember the Marshall plan when we helped out to countries the Allies conquered in WWII? A lot of complaining went on about that, but it was in our self interest to develop those markets so we had markets to sell to.

What Sullivan is talking about is finding good tax policies in all this; primarily reforming our own tax code. He says, “Proponents of reduced taxes on foreign operations of U.S. companies like to argue that direct incentives for foreign job creation will indirectly benefit U.S. job creation. I like to refer to this as trickle-sideways economics, a notion we should find no more compelling than trickle-down economics.” Neat phrase.

I also remember PK advocated zero corporate tax; I’m still working on that one as they still would use community resources and need to help pay for community education, but they shouldn’t be used as cash cows for communities either. I also imagine PK understands this article better than I.

Anyway, it was a neat blog.

---

On another point we are now seeing the ads pour in about fighting a recall our Wisconsin Governor who is promoted as the who saved Wisconsin. We’re going to see a lot of this. What I would like to see is a comparison of  median standard of living comparison of the results of his cuts and aid to business.

Everybody see high unemployment rates, but do we really see the overall backwards slide of middle class standard of living. Half pictures often dishonest as the analysis, is only part of the problem.