5 Myths About Our Sputtering Economy
By James P. Moore Jr.
WashPost
Sunday, December 14, 2008
For months now, the nation's economic obituary has been splashed across the front pages of nearly every newspaper in the country. Journalists and pundits alike have warned that America's long-running global dominance has come to a screeching halt, eclipsed by growing markets in such places as China and India and frittered away by our own mismanagement, excesses and myopic approach to the future. We're long past due for a reality check. The United States and the incoming Obama administration face formidable challenges, but the country is by no means on its last legs. Here are a few key myths that need to be dispelled.
1. The United States has lost its competitive edge.
Not by a long shot. By almost any measure, the United States continues to outperform other countries around the globe (including rising giants China and India) in such areas as innovation, technology, higher education, worker training, the ability of the labor force to move from job to job, and more. Just this fall, the Swiss-based World Economic Forum released its latest global competitiveness report, and once again, the United States easily topped the list. The study noted that despite the current financial turmoil, the United States is blessed with strong productivity and can "ride out business-cycle shifts and economic shocks" better than other countries.
2. The United States long ago gave up its global lead in manufacturing to China.
Not yet. Yes, U.S. production plummeted this fall, and yes, the domestic auto industry -- the poster child for America's aging manufacturing infrastructure -- will never return to the output it could manage a decade ago. But even with all this grim news, the United States has held onto its manufacturing lead -- particularly in such key sectors as pharmaceuticals and aerospace, in which it produces almost 25 percent of the world's output, according to the World Bank. China produces roughly two-thirds that amount, the bank notes, and the global downturn has badly hurt its manufacturing sector over the past several months. Sure, China and India have been closing the gap, but with a little bit of creativity, vision and determination on the part of U.S. industry, the Obama administration and Congress, we can hold our own.
(More here.)
WashPost
Sunday, December 14, 2008
For months now, the nation's economic obituary has been splashed across the front pages of nearly every newspaper in the country. Journalists and pundits alike have warned that America's long-running global dominance has come to a screeching halt, eclipsed by growing markets in such places as China and India and frittered away by our own mismanagement, excesses and myopic approach to the future. We're long past due for a reality check. The United States and the incoming Obama administration face formidable challenges, but the country is by no means on its last legs. Here are a few key myths that need to be dispelled.
1. The United States has lost its competitive edge.
Not by a long shot. By almost any measure, the United States continues to outperform other countries around the globe (including rising giants China and India) in such areas as innovation, technology, higher education, worker training, the ability of the labor force to move from job to job, and more. Just this fall, the Swiss-based World Economic Forum released its latest global competitiveness report, and once again, the United States easily topped the list. The study noted that despite the current financial turmoil, the United States is blessed with strong productivity and can "ride out business-cycle shifts and economic shocks" better than other countries.
2. The United States long ago gave up its global lead in manufacturing to China.
Not yet. Yes, U.S. production plummeted this fall, and yes, the domestic auto industry -- the poster child for America's aging manufacturing infrastructure -- will never return to the output it could manage a decade ago. But even with all this grim news, the United States has held onto its manufacturing lead -- particularly in such key sectors as pharmaceuticals and aerospace, in which it produces almost 25 percent of the world's output, according to the World Bank. China produces roughly two-thirds that amount, the bank notes, and the global downturn has badly hurt its manufacturing sector over the past several months. Sure, China and India have been closing the gap, but with a little bit of creativity, vision and determination on the part of U.S. industry, the Obama administration and Congress, we can hold our own.
(More here.)
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