Political Matrix Series: Question 2

[Deus Naturae]

There's nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing. If that were the case, it would make sense for the United States to totally prohibit all trade with other countries, which would obviously be a disaster.

I consider this a critical issue, because the sort of twisted reasoning that would lead one to believe that there's something inherently bad about allowing goods to be produced by more efficient foreign producers rather than by inefficient domestic producers would, if taken to its logical conclusion, suggest that it is better for every person to live apart from one another and produce only what he himself consumes (after all, he can't allow any of his productive activities to be "outsourced" to other persons), which would undermine the division of labor and destroy society.

[Deus Naturae]

Agree, critical issue. Companies that do it should be taxed up the yazoo.

Do you believe that every single product America uses should be 100% manufactured in America? Because that's the logical conclusion of your reasoning.

I mean, you realize that a lot of the capital and jobs currently in this country were at some point in another? Do you think companies should taxed for moving jobs from New York to New Hampshire? What about from Manhattan to Brooklyn? From Little Italy to Chinatown?

[Deus Naturae]

Agree. If you send jobs overseas, your assets in the United States should be taken over and your workers given control of them.

What if the jobs were already overseas? What if a US company acquires a Chinese company that already manufacturers a product in China?

I don't think it would need apply, in that case. But if you're going to layoff people here and move production elsewhere, you should pay the price for it.

But if you want to move production from a foreign country to the United States, it's fine because it benefits us? Do you believe that everything we consume should be produced within our borders?

[Deus Naturae]

Agree. If you send jobs overseas, your assets in the United States should be taken over and your workers given control of them.

What if the jobs were already overseas? What if a US company acquires a Chinese company that already manufacturers a product in China?

I don't think it would need apply, in that case. But if you're going to layoff people here and move production elsewhere, you should pay the price for it.

But if you want to move production from a foreign country to the United States, it's fine because it benefits us? Do you believe that everything we consume should be produced within our borders?

The answer for your first question is 'obviously.' But foreign investment should be strictly controlled and confined to certain economic sectors, so as not to disrupt the development of the American economy. I don't think that necessarily everything we consume should be produced here, but the vast majority of it should. Foreign companies should have to produce a certain percentage of the products they sell on our markets here in the United States.

Should the vast majority of products New Yorkers consume be produced in New York? Should the vast majority of products NYC residents consume be produced in NYC? Should the vast majority of products Upper East Side residents consume be produced in the Upper East Side? There's no reason why it's inherently better to produce goods in the same physical area in which they will be consumed (especially when that physical area is just the land mass that happens to be within arbitrary lines that were drawn decades if not centuries ago).