tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post2419647376831470863..comments2023-10-27T03:16:03.213-04:00Comments on Burgh Diaspora: Global Innovation ChainJim Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-56264497158050532272009-11-11T15:19:51.807-05:002009-11-11T15:19:51.807-05:00"I disagree that globalization is dependent u..."I disagree that globalization is dependent upon cheap energy."<br /><br />Yeah, I get that :PMark Arsenalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577014392699564592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-66003144689722530232009-11-11T14:56:37.157-05:002009-11-11T14:56:37.157-05:00I've speculated about the rise of localization...I've speculated about the rise of localization, but resulting from a different agent than spiking energy costs. I disagree that globalization is dependent upon cheap energy.Jim Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-88223667604728869982009-11-11T14:51:11.004-05:002009-11-11T14:51:11.004-05:00I think I just latched onto this sentence: "T...I think I just latched onto this sentence: "The supposed rise of localization might be missing the big picture."<br /><br />I assumed that by 'supposed' you meant that you did not agree that localisation was occurring.<br /><br />As for global supply chains, I've been following a lot of the same new-energy articles you've been linking to recently, and (even though they are all terrifyingly carbon-based) they all seem to point to at least a few more years of cheap(ish) transpacific shipping.<br /><br />So one can speculate that the global supply chain might just be suffering from the collapse in trade which has characterized this economic downturn, and may arise again when people start to feel rich again. At least for a while.Mark Arsenalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577014392699564592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-68710612534479463642009-11-11T14:07:18.669-05:002009-11-11T14:07:18.669-05:00Actually, I've been arguing that localization ...Actually, I've been arguing that localization (i.e. people caring about where the stuff is made) will drive this next round of globalization. In this post, I link to a structural analysis that says the global manufacturing supply chain isn't falling apart so much as it is disappearing.<br /><br />It is a different take on where the global economy is heading and I was attempting to make some sense of it. <br /><br />Just thinking out loud.Jim Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-48721002383614302492009-11-11T13:58:05.455-05:002009-11-11T13:58:05.455-05:00I'm actually thinking of the manufacturing exp...I'm actually thinking of the manufacturing exporting that happened in the past 15-20 years, which coincides with when 'developed' economies shifted to having the majority of their debt in the hands of 'developing' economies, who were incidentally the recipients of this exported manufacturing capacity.<br /><br />I guess I just demonstrate typical conspiracy theorist mindset - I can take any data and translate it into "financial and energy crisis = doom".<br /><br />I guess your thesis boils down to market economics - most people don't care where their plastic pumpkins or donuts come from, and most people (with any influence) want an exciting knowledge economy job. I'm just another economic fetishist who dreams of living in the early 60s forever. Oh well.<br /><br />As for legacy costs - they will always exist in any economy that has any sort of dynamism. What do you propose we do with them if not find a way for current economic activity to finance them? Usually they only get written off if there is a severe upheaval (aka, Roman Empire, Zimbabwe, Cultural Revolution), and the 'kick the can' approach popular with just about ALL politicians is even more terrifying to me than life without donut shops...Mark Arsenalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577014392699564592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-7724739596741190962009-11-11T13:39:23.318-05:002009-11-11T13:39:23.318-05:00Manufacturing infrastructure wasn't exported j...Manufacturing infrastructure wasn't exported just as agricultural infrastructure wasn't exported during the economic implosion of the 30s. Production increased while the demand for labor decreased.<br /><br />The Fratboy Mayor is struggling with the legacy costs of a long gone industrial era. Pittsburgh's problem is paying yesterday's bill. Not today's.Jim Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-16453119444332016772009-11-11T13:25:10.161-05:002009-11-11T13:25:10.161-05:00The question is, as brought front-and-centre by ma...The question is, as brought front-and-centre by mayor fratboy recently, how do you tax a knowledge economy? Polities which shoot for wholesale annihilation of their existing taxbase need a backup plan.<br /><br />I often wonder if the rise of the service sector (which is far less heavily taxed in industrial nations) isn't the real reason that 'developed' economies are so addicted to foreign debt? I'm sure big business noticed this long ago, and I'm sure it's a primary reason these economies exported their manufacturing infrastructure.<br /><br />Of course, even if we find a way for governments to get a slice of that pie, there's still the matter of why we should be discouraging donut shops and car repairmen just because they don't meet our particular economic fetishes... But I've gone there before and it just gets me screeched at :PMark Arsenalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577014392699564592noreply@blogger.com