beating teh competition

Krugman:

...It’s true that we’d have more jobs if we exported more and imported less. But the same is true of Europe and Japan, which also have depressed economies. And we can’t all export more while importing less, unless we can find another planet to sell to. Yes, we could demand that China shrink its trade surplus — but if confronting China is what Mr. Obama is proposing, he should say that plainly.

Furthermore, while America is running a trade deficit, this deficit is smaller than it was before the Great Recession began. It would help if we could make it smaller still. But ultimately, we’re in a mess because we had a financial crisis, not because American companies have lost their ability to compete with foreign rivals.

But isn’t it at least somewhat useful to think of our nation as if it were America Inc., competing in the global marketplace? No.

Consider: A corporate leader who increases profits by slashing his work force is thought to be successful. Well, that’s more or less what has happened in America recently: employment is way down, but profits are hitting new records. Who, exactly, considers this economic success?

Still, you might say that talk of competitiveness helps Mr. Obama quiet claims that he’s anti-business. That’s fine, as long as he realizes that the interests of nominally “American” corporations and the interests of the nation, which were never the same, are now less aligned than ever before.

Take the case of General Electric, whose chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, has just been appointed to head that renamed advisory board. I have nothing against either G.E. or Mr. Immelt. But with fewer than half its workers based in the United States and less than half its revenues coming from U.S. operations, G.E.’s fortunes have very little to do with U.S. prosperity.

By the way, some have praised Mr. Immelt’s appointment on the grounds that at least he represents a company that actually makes things, rather than being yet another financial wheeler-dealer. Sorry to burst this bubble, but these days G.E. derives more revenue from its financial operations than it does from manufacturing — indeed, GE Capital, which received a government guarantee for its debt, was a major beneficiary of the Wall Street bailout...

And about that trade deficit the Villagers keep wringing their hands over...

...The trade deficit is when the total goods and services the U.S. imports is greater than the total it exports. In 2009, the total U.S. trade deficit was $380.7 billion which is $1.5 trillion in exports minus $1.9 trillion in imports. This is almost half of the 2008 trade deficit of $695.9 billion...America's dependence on foreign oil drives the trade deficit.

Last time I looked the situation remains the same:

The U.S. trade deficit probably widened in November as higher oil prices and a growing economy boosted imports faster than exports, economists said before a report today...

It's the Oil, stupid. Green energy would effectively end the trade deficit and put men like Mr. Immelt out of a job. But what's good for Business is good for America, right? Which is why the One is channeling the Gipper, right?



Exactly.