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Politics : John EDWARDS for President -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (741)	2/25/2004 2:41:07 PM
From: JakeStraw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1381

Consider what would happen if Congress restricted companies from shifting jobs overseas. Because rivals in Europe, Japan and Korea could employ cheaper workers in developing nations, they'd have a leg up on US firms. Foreign investors would recognize that rising protectionism makes US companies less competitive and would choose to take their yen and euros elsewhere, driving down the US stock market, shrinking available capital, and eventually leading to more unemployment than if Congress had done nothing. It is true that America has lost jobs in the last three years, and the technology sector has been harder-hit than many others. But the job loss has not been as huge as some politicians and news reports would have you believe. America's unemployment rate currently is around 5.7 percent, not especially high by historical standards, and among the lowest in the world. It's certainly the envy of France (9.3 percent), Germany (9 percent), and Canada (6.8 percent).