America for Sale: 2 Outcomes When Foreigners Buy Factories

The debate over globalization’s effects on the US economy has become a focal point of the presidential campaign. Outsourcing jobs is a major concern of voters, and with good reason. In Michigan alone, as New York Times’ writer Peter Goodman notes, more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost to foreign competition during the last eight years. Yet globalization encourages foreign investment, which can benefit US workers. With the dollar struggling against other world currencies, foreign firms find investing in the US cost-effective, creating job growth in industries where the US can become a technological leader, including alternative energy. US voters may express wariness about sovereign wealth funds purchasing land and companies, but fact remains that the US must account for its $700 million deficit and find ways to become a seller in global markets. Managed properly, globalization creates new avenues for economic growth, and innovation and efficiency attract capital investment. – YaleGlobal