Sometimes when we are in the middle of the United States, we tend to forget (or never know) just how closely we are connected to the rest of the world.
Too many times in the newspapers and on television news the rest of the world looks like only the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or some sort of disaster such as an earthquake or flood.
But there is much much more. And you might be surprised just how close the rest of the world is to you. And I don't just mean the Japanese or Korean car you or your neighbors drive or all the cheap Chinese-made products at the local Wal-Mart.
Ohio, like the rest of the United States, depends on companies from other countries to buy things and to sell us things.
Look at the labels in your clothes. If the clothes are not made in China, they are probably made in the Dominican Republic or maybe Haiti. Or maybe Vietnam or Malaysia. (Look them up on the map.)
Think about those delicious green Granny Smith apples. From September through November the apples you buy might come from the state of Washington. The rest of the year they probably come from Chile.
Are you ready to give up those great apples because they are not grown in America?
And of course you know that most of the oil that makes the gasoline Americans use comes from other countries.
We borrow money from other countries to help build new factories and roads. And other countries borrow money from us for the same reasons.
In the past couple of weeks we have seen how close the American economy is tied to the rest of the world.
- Our banks get into trouble and people in Hong Kong and Paris get worried about their banks.
- Our stock market goes down. The rest of the world's stock markets go down.
Think about all the jobs that are created because of exports from Ohio. Think about all the jobs that are created because of foreign investments in Ohio.
With Goliatha traveling to other countries maybe she will learn more about how we are all connected in the world. And how that can help the state.
So how does Ohio sit with the rest of the world:
- Almost a quarter (23%) of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio depend on exports.
- 11,371 companies in Ohio export goods. Of that number a little more than 10,000 have 500 or fewer employees.
- In 2006 213,300 Ohio workers were employed by foreign companies with factories or offices in Ohio. (That makes Ohio the 8th most popular U.S. state for foreign investment.)
- The two partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- Canada and Mexico -- account for about $23 billion of purchases of Ohio goods. Japan and China each buy $1.5 billion dollars of goods as well.
- And Ohio sells $1.3 billion of goods to Brazil, the country Goliatha just visited.
- The total amount of exports by Ohio to the world was about $42 billion last year. And this year it looks as if even more will be sold.
Just think how many more people would be without jobs if Ohio did not export things to these other countries. Just think about how bad it would be if we told other countries we don't want their products here.
First, all the cheap items in Wal-Mart will be gone. Second those same countries will stop buying our things. So all those companies in Ohio that export goods will have to close. And that means more people out of work.
What it all means is that we would have much less to buy and it would be more expensive. And more people would be out of work than they are now.
That does not sound very pleasant.
Goliatha learned that many things are very expensive in Brazil because that country limits what can be imported. And so what they don't produce in their country becomes very expensive. Plus what they do produce is also very expensive because it is only for the Brazil market.
So before anyone says foreign trade is bad, think about how your life would be different without the rest of the world buying our stuff and sending us their stuff.
Here are some good links to learn more:
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