The Effects of Globalization on America

The American public has seen a major decrease in manufacturing jobs over the last decade. Globalization, as according to Freidman in Denslow is “a dynamic, ongoing process that involves the integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies. It is one that enables individuals and corporations to reach around the world, farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before.” Globalization has sent most of America’s manufacturing factories over seas, causing many Americans to seek out other occupational fields.

Globalization has affected our country in a negative manor, by causing many American jobs to be deported. The loss of many Manufacturing jobs as well as some service and various technical careers has had a major impact on our society. More Americans are going back to school, because they feel they have no other way to

support their families. With the manufacturing jobs being shipped over seas and service jobs being very low pay, many middle-aged American citizens are going back to school to be able to be competitive within their industry. However, college tuition is not cheap and it is not an option for many. Even with a bachelors degree, finding a well paying job is not easy. According to Business Week, “Workers face pay-cut demands from employers, which often threaten to export jobs.” With the Economy being so horrible and more and more jobs moving over seas many Americans are finding themselves without work on a daily basis. Also, as more people immigrate to the US, more of its citizens lose jobs. Many immigrants are either more qualified for a job or are willing to do more work for less money.

Currently our country is facing a recession, to which one might ask: is globalization responsible for the current recession? To answer this question one should understand first what the major factors causing this recession entail. According to the global policy forum “Globalization creates new markets and wealth, even as it causes widespread suffering, disorder, and unrest.” The following are a few of these

contributing factors: The war, loss of manufacturing jobs, off-shoring/ outsourcing, housing credit, personal debt, energy and our national debt. Many people over look or disregard the effects that outsourcing/ off-shoring have on our economy. It’s not just the manufacturing jobs that are being moved overseas; high paying jobs, such as engineering, architecture medical and technical support, are moving overseas at an alarming rate. The rate of jobs being deported is a lot high then new jobs being created here on the home front, resulting in a deficit of jobs available.

According to John Manzella, “Trade now supports nearly one in every five jobs.” More companies can afford to produce more products at a lower cost, therefore, giving the consumer access to products are lower prices. Manzella also stated “Workers

in globally engaged companies earn more then the average.” America, being filled with globally engaged companies has a higher average earning the many countries. As Manzella states, “Globalization has generated an increase in annual U.S. income of approximately $1 trillion (average annual income gains of S10, 000 per house hold).” Globalization has also had a positive impact on America with the influence of

foreign cultures. In today’s world America is more diverse then ever and has a growing population of minorities. America has always been a melting pot; however, within the last decade more and more foreign countries have had a cultural affect on the US. According to Buzzle.com “globalization will help the whole world to deal with crises like unemployment and poverty. It will help us to raise the global economy only when the involved power blocks have mutual trust and respect for each other’s opinion.” From Technology to religion globalization has changed the face of the US and the rest of the world.

Globalization has played a major part in our president’s political campaign. From outsourcing and importing laws to the War in Iraq, the world influences the decisions

our presidents make everyday. Currently China is limited on the amount of certain textile goods they can import to the US through the U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding. According to cbp.gov, “The Governments of the United States and China established agreed restraint levels for certain textile products, produced or manufactured in China and exported to the United States during one-year periods beginning on January 1, 2006 and extending through December 31, 2008.” At the end of this year this agreement will no longer be effect and the US is going to have to renegotiate with China. If China has no restrictions on the amount of goods being imported into the US, the market could become over saturated with a surplus of supply. Resulting in the demand for many of these products to be lessened, thus the

companies will make less money. In order to keep our economy afloat during this recession our government needs to keep a close eye on what and how much of certain goods are being imported from China and other countries.

With the internet being bigger then ever, there is tons of information available on the web about the US and practically every country in the world. With E-mail, Face book, chat rooms, Instant massager, you tube, and other media forms information can be traveled across the world within less then a second. With the world news at such a short reach American officials need to be more careful now then ever about what, when and where they say things. A negative message can be conveyed within seconds to the rest of the world causing relations with the offended country to be strained. However, things can be cleared up just as fast with a click of a mouse to send and e-mail, or a interview on television. Today’s politicians are constantly under a microscope for every word they say and every move they make.

We should not be opposed to globalization as without it our country would crumble. With most of the world now involved with trade and cultural integration America would simply be trampled over if we closed ourselves off to the rest of the world. Also, the US was founded by immigrants, it would be completely hypocritical

for us to turn our backs on globalization. The US should not be opposed to globalization; however, it should be cautious that our own economy does not drown into a depression within the process. The US should focus on our own economy but not shut out the rest of the world in the process.

Work Cited

Business Week. Pros and Cons of Globalization.

http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_17/b3678003.htm

Buzzle.com. Pros and Cons of Globalization.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-globalization.html

The Global Policy Forum. Retrieved Saturday February 2nd.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/index.htm

John Manzella. Policy perspective. Retrieved Friday February 1st. ttps://blackboard.uncg.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_16_1

US- China MOU. Retrieved Saturday February 2nd.

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/china_mou

Brianna DeCarmine