trade

G-20 & Debt Forgiveness

As the leaders of the industrialized world converge on Pittsburgh later this week to  "commit to a framework for sustainable and balanced growth" (as President Obama has put it), perhaps a nail in that frame could be the forgiveness of the debt burden saddling many of the world's poorest countries.

Let's Discuss Religion otherwise known as Comparative Advantage & Trade

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Ralph Gomory gave a talk today at the New America Foundation, a think tank who also gets it with online media!

As I listen to President Obama's speech acknowledging structural problems with the U.S. economy, yet do not see policies that will actually do what is needed and never mentions manufacturing or trade, one person I find quite insightful is mathematician Ralph Gomory.

Ralph Gomory - Does America Need Manufacturing?

 

China's Quest for Oil

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Is China trying to capture the oil market?

From Fueling the Dragon:

With 1.3 billion people, the People's Republic of China is the world's most populous country and the second largest oil consumer, behind the U.S. In recent years, China has been undergoing a process of industrialization and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With real gross domestic product growing at a rate of 8-10% a year, China's need for energy is projected to increase by 150 percent by 2020. to sustain its growth China requires increasing amounts of oil. Its oil consumption grows by 7.5% per year, seven times faster than the U.S.

Friday Movie Night - Trade and The WTO

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It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

Today we are hearing how Buy American is this awful thing, lobbyists screaming threats of boogie man trade war, retribution from the biggest bad ass on the global stage, The World Trade Organization, and other fear mongering things that go bump in the night when the United States tries to stimulate it's own domestic economy in any method that might actually....stimulate the economy.

So, with that, today's videos are a lassoed roundup describing the history of trade, some facts about the WTO and US trade policy.

First up in a more layman's documentary describing what the WTO really is:

Obama Promises to Create 2.5 Million Jobs, but in What Countries?

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President-elect Obama promises to create 2.5 million jobs and has plans for a massive stimulus package costing at least half a trillion dollars if not $1 trillion dollars.

But where exactly would those jobs be created?

Business Week Journalist Michael Mandel asks Can Obama Keep New Jobs at Home? Mandel points out that a massive stimulus might just well go offshore.

Some startling facts in this article:

Imports have risen from the equivalent of 9% of gross domestic product to almost 19%. Even more astonishing, the value of imported goods now is equal to almost 40% of the output of U.S. manufacturing.

Manufacturing Monday: Week of 11.10.08

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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another installment of Manufacturing Monday. Today we are going to cover something that has been in the news lately, General Motors.  Well to be exact, the potential bankruptcy of GM, and what it could mean to you.  For many, this is a non-issue, who cares about another car company and a failing one at that?  But indeed, it may just be that a collapse of GM could be worse than that of Lehman Brothers and AIG.  Of course we'll cover, as always, the economic indicators for the past week and what they also mean.  So without further adieu, the Numbers!

 

 

The Numbers

Buddy can you spare a dime.

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They can stuff all the retraining they want into a 5 lb. sack; but until they create jobs, the unemployed are doomed.

For the first time in my entire life, I actually know people who are not only unemployed, but unemployed, in foreclosure, and filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. WTF!

Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from September 2007 to September 2008, seasonally adjusted

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| September | September | Over-the-year
State | 2007 | 2008(p) | change(p)
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Arizona....| 2,670,700 | 2,611,500 | -59,200
Florida....| 8,014,500 | 7,899,000 | -115,500
Georgia....| 4,153,900 | 4,092,800 | -61,100
Michigan...| 4,249,500 | 4,171,600 | -77,900
Nebraska....| 965,800 | 978,600 | 12,800
Rhode Island....| 490,800 | 478,200 | -12,600
Texas....| 10,394,700 | 10,642,600 | 247,900
Wyoming.....| 290,100 | 298,300 | 8,200

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