Re: Yet more depressing news on the globalization front.
That said, we should not view the coming wave of offshoring as an impending catastrophe. Nor should we try to stop it. The normal gains from trade mean that the world as a whole cannot lose from increases in productivity, and the United States and other industrial countries have not only weathered but also benefited from comparable changes in the past. But in order to do so again, the governments and societies of the developed world must face up to the massive, complex, and multifaceted challenges that offshoring will bring. National data systems, trade policies, educational systems, social welfare programs, and politics all must adapt to new realities. Unfortunately, none of this is happening now.
On one level he is right, but statements like that make me nervious because they are often code speak by big buisness propagandists. The trick is that they often speak in terms of challenges to society and adjustments to government, but what they mean is reducing government spending on everything except corporate subsidies and slashing taxes. That the best solution might be to increase taxes to support a strong social safety net during the transistion is never allowed to enter the conversation.
As for unions, that is a sticky issue. The problem is that while unions do help to increase the strength of the workforce, if they get too strong they can wreck horrible damage on the companies. Depending on what state you are in and what industry, the unions tend to be either totally useless or excessivly powerful. A big step in helping here would be to redraft labor laws to strike a sensible balance.
Jay