17 Feb 2004
Japanese Capital and Jobs Flowing to China

It's not just the United states that suffering from offshoring. And there's a bit or irony here, eh? Japan was, after all, a huge beneficiary of the first round of industrial offshoring in the sixties and seventies, and now those jobs, which started in places like Bloomington, Indiana and the Sarkes-Tarzian TV plant in the early 1950's, are moving from Japan towards cheaper pastures in China.

Perhaps (and I'm thinking out loud here) the movement of jobs across borders is like the movement of water seeking the lowest place. What happens when all the low spots are full? The water will pool and rise, of course, but it'll never actually climb back up the mountain. If you want water, and you live on a mountain you need a dam. Or you need to move off your mountaintop.

It's our choice.

The qualms are gone. Now even Japan's pride and joy, its top-end electronics manufacturers, are coming to China.

(link) [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

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