re:  The country needs a Tea Party of the radical center

Thomas Friedman gets caught in repeating a common mistake:  that American manufacturers are hurting the economy by somehow shipping jobs overseas, and that some sort of tax credit should be provided for those industries who "move more manufacturing jobs back onshore".  No doubt, Mr. Friedman assumes this to be the case based on the decrease in the number of American workers employed in manufacturing since the late 1970s, coupled with the breathless news reports of factory closures in the Rust Belt.

The real story is this:  manufacturing has increased in the United States.  Fewer people may be working in factories, but actual manufacturing output has increased by over 200% during that same time period — including the recent economic downturn (output peaked in 2007) — according to data from the Federal Reserve and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  The difference is productivity:  because of technological innovations like automation, computers, etc., worker productivity has soared, and fewer workers are required to produce more products.

In advocating some sort of tax credit for companies to hire more workers, Mr. Friedman is essentially saying that the government should spend money to make companies less productive.  A better idea would be to lower taxes on businesses and capital investment for all businesses, making the return on investment in the United States more attractive for all types of industries.

Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX