On C-SPAN's Washington's Journal this morning one of the subjects for the call-in segment was US relations with China. China's President, Hu Jintao, is visiting President Obama this week and with the anticipation of the Hu-Obama Summit, this topic is obviously relevant.
During the segment a caller made a comment about all of the US offshoring of jobs to China and complained about how there are few things made in America today. The first response from the host this morning, Greta Wodele, was the typical corporate media or corporatist response to this type of sentiment. Greta implied in her response to the caller that if things would be still manufactured in the US, we as consumers would have to pay a higher price for these goods.
What is never mentioned during these discussions about alleged "benefits" of of cheaper products for US consumers as a result of shipping US manufacturing jobs overseas, is the enormous tax revenue that is lost to cities and counties, states, and the federal government. The loss of tens of millions of US manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor centers like China, means less tax revenues for things like your local roads, bridges, schools, police, fire fighters, and teachers. For example, in your local town if there was a manufacturing plant that employed 900 local residents that decides to move these 900 jobs to China, your local government now has to figure out a way to replace the tax revenues that will be lost from the salaries of those 900 workers. Guess how they will do it?
By raising your taxes (those of you who are living in that locality that still are employed). Have you ever seen the property assessment on your home dramatically increase in one year when you've not made a single improvement to your home? Ever wonder why this happens? Simple. The higher the local government assesses your home value, the higher your property tax rates. Higher tax rates means you pay more in taxes.
Those that support shipping US jobs overseas for cheap labor never explain that there will be many negative effects that you and I will experience as a result of those jobs being shipped overseas. That $5 or $10 we are "saving" on some item in stores like Walmart, is in turn costing us to pay higher taxes on our homes and cars. Or more in local, state, and federal income taxes.
After thinking about it in that context, are you still eager to save that measly $5 or $10 now in Walmart for a pair of pants?
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