Globalization Offered Two Ways: à la Carte and Prix Fixe

US property owners love the high prices paid by foreign investors. But the nation can get prickly about some overseas investors: rejecting a Chinese oil company’s bid for Unocal in summer 2005 and an Arab firm’s proposal to manage operations of six US ports this month. Author Daniel Gross labels this tendency as “selective globalization syndrome.” Politicians attack symbolic deals, like the ports, even though 80 percent of US ports are already under foreign control. Even politicians and policy-makers who support globalization can be choosy when convenient – for example, President Bush argues that global trade benefits the US, but hesitates to lift protective tariffs on US sugar sales that could temporarily hurt sugar-growing states like Florida. Politicians can’t help but want to protect traditional products that are a source of national pride. Unfortunately, the arguments about national dignity or security do not extend to national debt – with the bulk held by China, Saudi Arabia, Persian Gulf and other foreign entities. Other countries, especially those rich in oil, simply have much more money to invest than the US, and they are weary about low returns from US Treasury bonds. Meanwhile, Gross points out that politicians continue to ignore the basic reasons behind US economic woes, with a government and consumers buying more than they produce, exporting more than they import, and borrowing more than they save. – Yale Global