Outsourcing to Mexico is No Excuse for Failure
February 13th 2010 20:54
Recently, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm attempted to blame the poor state of Michigan's economy on trade agreements with Mexico. James Hohman challenged her claims:
This means that for the U.S. economy as a whole, we are talking about less than 2% of jobs being lost due to outsourcing. Given that these jobs are eventually replaced by better jobs in the economy, it seems as if (surprise, surprise) the reality does not live up to the political rhetoric. As for Michigan, according to Hohman, Michigan exports more products to Michigan than every state except for Texas and California. So here are the facts:
1. A microscopic number of jobs in Michigan are "lost" directly due to exports.
2. The Mexican market provides a huge export market for Michigan, and politicians love exports!
How is it, Governor, that the poor state of Michigan's economy can be blamed on trade policy with Mexico?
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
Company relocations are a very rare occurrence. In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics kept track of U.S. companies that moved their production. The survey includes responses on employer and work relocations, and the answers are fairly surprising. In the first three quarters of 2004, 685,929 employees were separated from their work, but only 40,727 were separated because their companies relocated, and only a quarter of these jobs — 10,722 — moved outside of the United States.
1. A microscopic number of jobs in Michigan are "lost" directly due to exports.
2. The Mexican market provides a huge export market for Michigan, and politicians love exports!
How is it, Governor, that the poor state of Michigan's economy can be blamed on trade policy with Mexico?
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
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