I was joking a bit, but I do think that I understood at least some of your points. I had a serious point as well, which is that part of what increases in productivity mean is that most people work in services. There are a lot fewer farmers than there were when I was a kid because farms are more automated, and while people apparently eat more than they did then, demand for food is somewhat inelastic.
What I couldn't tell from your remarks is whether you were concerned about the quality of the jobs that replace the exported manufacturing work, or about the idea that we import too many manufactured goods, but since you were cracking jokes about giving people backrubs, it was a little hard to tell. (One rationale for farm subsidies, which I think makes some sense, is that it is a national defense issue -- importing all of your food makes you more vulnerable, as it did for England in WWII. However, at some level you can make that statement about anything, and perhaps you are making it able manufacturing?) |
