Whose economy?

From economist's Robert Reich's Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/1019795334699729

Whenever you hear the term “national competitiveness,” watch your wallet. It’s been in the news a lot recently....

Posted by Robert Reich on Friday, June 19, 2015

Whenever you hear the term “national competitiveness,” watch your wallet. It’s been in the news a lot recently. President Obama says the Trans Pacific Partnership is crucial to America’s “national competitiveness.” Senator Lindsey Graham says renewal of the Ex-Im Bank’s charter is critical to our “national competitiveness.” GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, says both are necessary to maintain “national competitiveness.” JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, says the Dodd-Frank Act and other bank regulations are eroding our “national competitiveness.” Mitch McConnell says lower corporate tax rates are necessary for our “national competitiveness.”

Baloney. All are confusing the competitiveness of giant global corporations headquartered in the U.S. – GE, Boeing, JPMorgan, and so on – with the competitiveness of the American workforce. They’re conflating corporate profitability with good American jobs. But giant global American corporations are “American” only in the sense their headquarters are here. They’ve been raking in huge profits while creating more jobs overseas than in the U.S., selling more overseas than here, obtaining investment capital from all over the world, and storing their profits overseas to avoid U.S. taxes.

Passage of the Trans Pacific Partnership, renewal of the Ex-Im Bank charter, lowering of U.S. corporate taxes, and rolling back Dodd-Frank, will all further increase these corporations’ profits. But they’ll do nothing to create more good jobs in America. Remember: American competitiveness should be about the jobs and wages of Americans, not the profits of giant global American-based corporations.