How do you feel about outsourcing jobs?

Has the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs made for a slower economic recovery?

• The Republicans have made the difference between the recover under Reagan and the recover under Obama into one of the major talking points of the campaign. But I can't help wondering if it is even valid to compare the two recoveries in a practical sense. Manufacturing jobs help stimulate an economy because of their trickle down effect. When consumers start purchasing goods, this raises demand and creates new jobs to help expand manufacturing. And this trickles down to the other industries who supply parts to the companies that produce finished goods, not to mention jobs involved with transporting the parts and finished goods. Plus, when manufacturing increases, it stimulates investments in capitol improvements - including new factories and production equipment. However, adding jobs in retail or service industries would not have the same impact. While companies may create new jobs as their business starts to expand, those jobs would not necessarily create American jobs along the supply chain. Even if consumers are spending more on durable goods, it's not going to create many jobs when the finished goods are all coming from other countries. By no means do I consider myself an economist, but I remember from my college economics classes that housing starts were a leading indicator for economic growth. My understanding is this is because new housing construction means the creation of new jobs and this means more consumers with money to spend. Plus, increases in construction lead to increases in production along the supply chain, which lead to even more jobs. Given all that, I can't help but think the massive loss of US manufacturing jobs over the last 10-15 years is a huge factor in the slow economic recovery. And this is only made worse by the lack of construction due to an extra supply of homes as the result of foreclosures. Am I on the right track with my thinking?

• Answer:

  If you said that the US has had the slow growth during 10-15 years, what could you explain the situation of high growth and full employment before 2008, which had only interruption in 2001-2. During the hard time after the economy was pulled back to positive growth in 2009, the job creation was in health and wholesale and retail trade sector. But the two sectors are not the engine of growth.That is why the government has to stimulate the construction sector once again. The outsourcing has never been the main cause of slow growth and unemployment in this country.It has caused the structural change instead.