In recent weeks, there have been campaign ads playing on TV for the upcoming (in eight months) presidential election. I am not happy about everything John Kerry says in his, particularly his assertion that he can curb the outsourcing of American jobs overseas. Because of the immobility of labor, jobs instead have to move in order for economic efficiency to be increased. By shipping low-skill jobs overseas, where workers can produce them comparatively cheaper than they can in the U.S., it lowers the cost of these items to American consumers and indirectly, therefore increases American wages in terms of purchasing power.
However, my qualms about Kerry�s ability and desire to stop the outsourcing of jobs is not my greatest concern. More importantly is George W. Bush�s outright lies and misrepresentations. In Bush�s �positive� ad, he basically claims that, had it not been for the bursting of the tech bubble and the 9/11 attacks, his policies would have worked for the nation. This claim is highly dubious. Much of Bush�s economic policies were based on the never-stated assumption that tax cuts (or tax giveaways, as some have said is a more appropriate term) to corporations and the very rich is what is needed for the country. It�s back to Reaganomics (or what George H.W. Bush mockingly called �voodoo economics�). What is needed instead, is tax cuts for low and moderate income Americans, who will spend more per dollar of what they receive, and therefore stimulate the economy more. Furthermore, instead of slashing domestic programs, it would have been far more useful to expand them, particularly infrastructural projects instead of sending money abroad to fight a useless war in Iraq, which has provided very little stimulus to the economy.
Finally, the disturbingly negative campaign ad criticizes John Kerry for opposing the Patriot Act (which has helped �arrest terrorists�). Opposition to the Patriot Act is something no one should be faulted for. It is a terrible piece of legislation that has provoked revolt in the normally quiet librarians. It cuts down on civil liberties and allows the government far too much scope for arbitrary investigations of people without their knowledge or any recourse to the courts.
While Kerry�s assertions about stopping the outsourcing of jobs (if that were desirable or possible) is alarming, it arouses far less alarm than many parts of Bush�s campaign ads which show just how dangerous and manipulative he and his campaign spin team are.
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©2004 Richard B. Goud, Jr.
Updated on 20 March 2004 at 18:22 PST