Report: Offshoring Of Manufacturing Capacity Leaves America Vulnerable, Unprepared

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2012/07/report_offshori.htm

July 30, 2012

Report: Offshoring Of Manufacturing Capacity Leaves America Vulnerable, Unprepared

-- by Dave Johnson

<snip>The report, which (Tom) Ridge shared with homeland security officials Tuesday morning, warns that the offshoring of U.S. factories means that rebounding from a catastrophe will be more difficult because so many critical supplies would have to come from overseas.

We are a country at risk because we’ve ignored the gradual erosion of our manufacturing basis,” he said in an interview. “We’ve ignored the need to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.”

Citing the aftermath of disasters such at Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the report adds to the long-running debate over whether the offshoring of U.S. manufacturing has harmed the nation.

“At a time when the frequency of large-scale disasters seems to be increasing, the U.S. seems to be at an all-time low in terms of being able to supply our own critical needs,” said Scott Paul, director of the Alliance for Manufacturing, which sponsored the report by Ridge and Robert B. Stephan, who was an assistant secretary of homeland security from 2005 to 2008.

Paul said, for example, that half of the world’s steel comes from China.

[HiPointDem]

1. kr

[nc4bo]

2. Only certain politicians and the 1% have ignored it. Everyone else got that memo

many, many years ago. Saw it coming like NOAA can see Africa sling off a hurricane.

The greedy took it away. Now that it's gone, those same greedy will come back like some psycho-savior and make another fortune.

[antigop]

3. wow...I guess these are the "advantages" to outsourcing that Hillary mentioned

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ndtv-exclusive-hillary-clinton-on-fdi-mamata-outsourcing-and-hafiz-saeed-full-transcript-207593

Hillary Clinton: So you are talking about the outsourcing of US jobs to India. We know it's been going on for many years now and it's part of our economic relationship with India and I think there are advantages with it that have certainly benefitted many parts of our country and there are disadvantages that go to the need to improve the job fields of our own people and create a better economic environment so it's like anything like the pluses and minuses.

The advantages are to the corporations and corporate executives, not the working stiffs.

[NNN0LHI]

5. She only talks about outsourcing in two paragraphs. Odd you would leave this one out?

Hillary Clinton: Well you know it's an election campaign and there is an obligation in any election campaign ...

(NDTV: to overstate?)

... well I'll not go that far to say overstate but to talk about what's on people's minds and it's more directed towards the fear that a lot of Americans who are in manufacturing, who don't feel like that they have any other job possibility because they are not trained for any other job possibilities. So it's a legitimate issue, it needs to be aired, but I think the President has been clear that he wants to develop our own exports, we are on the way of doubling our exports, he wants to improve education, skills training so that people can have a job in the 21st century, so it's fair to talk about and you also have to have a solution that looks to where we are going to work.

[antigop]

11. improving education isn't going to solve anything IF THEY KEEP OUTSOURCING JOBS

so big deal...people get trained...only to have the good paying jobs go overseas.

lots of info here:
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4836695

[antigop]

12. and here....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4919403

[closeupready]

8. Advantages go also to shareholders, i.e., the already rich.

nt

[shraby]

4. Doesn't take a memo to realize that. When the country doesn't manufacture much anymore,

it certainly can't replace what gets broken without importing it.

[amandabeech]

6. Well, that statement is a candidate for the "Duh!" award for the week.

Now, Mr. Tom, what are you going to do about it?

Buy a basic manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, renovate it and start making something useful?

[NNN0LHI]

9. Why would he do that?

When he knows the average American consumer will purchase the cheapest imported or non-union made gizmo available. Even if doing that would put their neighbor out of work or not have jobs available for their children when they need one.

I know I wouldn't if I could. What for? So China or some right to work state could drive me out of business undercutting my prices until I go bankrupt?

Would you do that if you could?

Don

[TheMastersNemesis]

7. In A WWII Scenario We Would Have To Surrender In A Few Days

In WWII we supplied almost all the war materials to our allies as well as ourselves. No one had any manufacturing left to speak of.
We have give most of that capacity to the Communist Chinese.

The only way we will learn is if we get our asses handed to us militarily.

[4th law of robotics]

14. We're still the largest manufacturer in the world

And can easily outproduce America of 1945.

[Brickbat]

10. I've called it "economic terrorism" for some time. Because that's what it is.

[DCKit]

17. It's certainly a national security issue. nt

[4th law of robotics]

13. Very few nations and no first world nations could weather any significant disruption

of international trade.

The days of self-sufficient nation states are over. We can go back to those times but that also means living like it's the 1800s or earlier.

[nolabels]

15. How are we going to survive the idea of that once it gets understood?

The need for a one world government is knocking at the front door and nobody of any authority would dare open it or even talk about it. In the mean time, crooks, hoarder billionaires and religious zealots will continue to rake us over the coals

[tanyev]

16. Gosh, nobody could have anticipated that.