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Evan Malachosky Current Event Round 3 Economic Transformations Mr. Wimmer Period 3 2/23/12  __ Economic Opportunity in the United States: __ Summary: In the past 8 years the United States has lost approximately 6 million manufacturing jobs (Program). The tough competition with overseas wages and opportunities has caused the United States to lose jobs. Chinese “slave wages”, which are currently set at .16 cents an hour are impossible for the United States to compete with (Program). The average salary for a manufacturing employee here within U.S. borders is about $33.00 (Program) Technology has often been blamed for the loss of jobs, but in truth technology has opened up more jobs. Technology increases efficiency, which increases the market. As the market increases, the prices drop and sales go up. When sales go up, the demand gets higher. As the demand gets higher, it automatically opens up jobs and employs thousands. Low wages and manipulated commerce makes China an attractive location for manufacturing but the country has hope for the future as more and more companies have begun bringing factories and jobs home to the U.S. Relevance: In the 1890’s, a tough economical time for the United States, jobs were in high demand but in very low supply. The big businesses that mistreated their employees faced the unions and ultimately struggled until the United States government backed them. In today’s economy, jobs are also lacking and the unemployment rate has been fluctuating rapidly. The unemployment rate is not a fair judgment of the manufacturing scene. We learned about the labor unions and their attempts to investigate the big businesses. As jobs scatter overseas, the accessibility to low-wage workers, “slaves” as we learned in class, do the work for much less and much more efficiently. When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it allowed businesses to jump on the offshore opportunities, and today China continues to be the powerhouse in the organization (Program). In 1899, the trade opportunities that China displayed attracted the United States and they became intrigued enough to pursue the expansion. The annexation of the Philippines and Cuba were both attempts to do what the United States is attempting to avoid today, exportation of jobs overseas and Eastern economic growth. The overseas growth has become a bit of a hindrance as Americans lack jobs and financial stability. The expansion benefited at the time, but in current times the United States has faltered in comparison to Asian job and economic standpoint. The United States has had its ups and downs economically and therefore President Obama has not declared the rising unemployment rate or lack of jobs as a severe problem. This is a problem that indeed needs to be solved, but a problem that has roots deeper than the United States forefront of businesses. The business front line is one that has stretched deep into other nations and is reliant on the worldwide trading market. Evaluation: Economic transformations are needed for the United States to continue to be a dominant economic power. The U.S. economy progression has come a long way, but the amount of jobs being shipped overseas has become larger and larger and has negatively impacted U.S. citizens. The lack of national manufacturing centers has become very common in the United States, and if you ask anyone where their shoes or clothes were made, their initial response is China. The overseas markets have become overrun by Chinese dominance and America has become a “profit puppet” to the Chinese manufacturing hub. Although American business have been the reason for the outsource of factories, no action was taken to try and stop these businesses from outsourcing their companies. Until recently, Obama stated that he was going pursue a tax increase on foreign earnings. Obama claimed the current situation is unfair, and he stated, "Introducing the principle of a minimum tax on foreign earnings would help address these problems and discourage a global race to the bottom in tax rates." (NRI). Obama has begun making efforts to discourage the outsourcing of jobs and ultimately stated, "Specifically, under the President's proposal, income earned by subsidiaries of US corporations operating abroad must be subject to a minimum rate of tax. This would stop our tax system from generously rewarding companies for moving profits offshore." The United States has a bright future to look forward to and therefore economic stability, job creation, and national economic pride could be something of the present.

__ Works Cited __ NRI. "Obama Proposes Tax on Forex Earnings to Discourage Outsourcing." //The// // Economic Times //. The Economic Times, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

Program., Howard Wial Is a Fellow for the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy. "How to save U.S. Manufacturing Jobs." //CNNMoney//. Cable News Network, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.