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26 February 2012

The Price of Globalization: American Jobs The price of globalization argues that American manufacturing jobs have been lost to China. Several significant economists have formed what they say is a new consensus, “global trade is not good for everyone – at least not equally (Kay 1).” In a recent white paper, David H. Autor, David Dorn and Gordon H. Hanson claim that the loss of manufacturing jobs to foreign countries with cheaper labor has a huge impact on the workers and their communities. The authors studied detailed data from local labor markets in the United States, and found that globalization has been having a large impact on blue collar workers from trading with China. They found that one-quarter of the decline in United States manufacturing was lost to China. The lost jobs also had a negative effect on their local communities. They advise that the United States should take a lesson from Europe about turning the China syndrome into a positive for American businesses. Globalization refers to the economy and events in one country affecting the economy and events of other countries. The term globalization implies that countries are interconnected. For the past several decades there has been an economic transition from individual countries to worldwide, global markets. Today many companies are global such as: McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, IBM, United Airlines, Apple Computers, and VISA Card. It is not uncommon to travel to foreign countries in Europe or Asia and stay at the same hotel chain such as Hilton or Best Western. In the past few decades even the Disney Magic Kingdom Theme park has been exported to have a park in Paris and Hong Kong. The entertainment business is another segment where Hollywood releases a movie like Titanic or Harry Potter and it is seen in theaters around the world. Here in the US we import things from around the world. The car dealers sell Volkswagens and Mercedes Benz from Germany, Hondas and Toyotas from Japan, and Volvos from Sweden. In the financial markets, we hear that the US stock market reacts to world events such as the debt default in Greece or the Tsunami in Japan which effected the production of the Japanese cars. The oil price is a good example of globalization. When there is an interruption in the oil supply from the accident off the Gulf Coast or the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, the cost of gas in the US often goes up. The economy of the US has been transitioning into the global markets for the past several decades. In the article //The Price of Globalization//, the case is presented that buying products from China has cost manufacturing jobs in the US. There are numerous examples of how the global effect has cost jobs in the US. Wal-Mart is famous as the largest retail chain in the world and it is notorious for selling products made in China. Anything from pillows and rugs in the house goods department to toys and radios are likely to have a printed label that says made in China. Kodak cameras from Rochester, New York have been in the news lately as declaring bankruptcy. There film cameras have lost the market to digital cameras which are often manufactured in Japan and China. The article claims “The China Syndrome” is responsible for the loss of one-quarter of the US manufacturing employment. Based on the long list of products that are made in China, the study is very believable. 1.Will oil prices continue to increase in the United States this summer due to problems in Iran in the Arab world? 2.While China has competed for manufacturing jobs, will it also take high tech computer jobs from the American workers? 3.If one quarter of the United States manufacturing jobs have been lost to China, have the rest of the jobs been lost to animated manufacturing and new technologies.
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Works Cited

"The Economic Policy Institute." //Counting the Jobs Lost to China//. Economic Policy Institute. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. Kim, Mallie Jane. "Rep. Tim Griffin to Introduce High-Skilled Immigrant Bill." //US News//. U.S.News & World Report, 15 Dec. 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. Kotkin, Joel. "Silicon Valley Can No Longer Save California -- Or The U.S." //Forbes//. Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. "The Price of Globalization: American Jobs." //Rendezvous Blog//. THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 2 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.