Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The disappearing of exports

An opinion piece in the New York Times explores and compares the world of a politician and that of the CEO. Politicians see the world as dominated by voter geography, while CEOs see the world as a global supply chain where anything can be sourced, made and sold.

The author, Thomas Friedman, quotes a Hong Kong manufacturer who says, “Source everywhere, manufacture everywhere, sell everywhere. The whole notion of an ‘export’ is really disappearing.”

But until we vote a one global community, the tension will still exist. So the focus of our elected officials is as key enablers; immigration for the skills, protection of ideas, funding research and provision of logistical infrastructure.

Freidman also alludes to the long-term debt problems of the US, which is not enabled by the four year election cycle. One way around this may be a long-term (longer than four years anyway), bi-partisan, debt-reduction strategy committee - my 2 cents worth, not Freidman's. That is, only if debt-reduction strategy is an important goal for governments.

Click here to read the full article.

No comments:

Post a Comment