2012
January 24.
In the New York Times, Keith Bradsher ’86 analyzes the decline of American manufacturing
In a widely praised article on the front page of the New York Times, Hong Kong Bureau Chief Keith Bradsher ’86 offers a fascinating look at the reasons high-tech gadgets like the iPhone aren’t made in the United States.
In looking at the outsourcing decisions of an iconic company like Apple, Bradsher tells a broader story about the economic evolution of the American manufacturing sector.
“While Apple is far from alone, it offers a window into why the success of some prominent companies has not translated into large numbers of domestic jobs,” Bradsher writes. “What’s more, the company’s decisions pose broader questions about what corporate America owes Americans as the global and national economies are increasingly intertwined.”
By tracing the general pattern of upheaval that follows technological innovation, Bradsher paints a worrisome picture of the American middle class. “Midwage jobs started disappearing,” he writes. “Particularly among Americans without college degrees, today’s new jobs are disproportionately in service occupations — at restaurants or call centers, or as hospital attendants or temporary workers — that offer fewer opportunities for reaching the middle class.”
The article has already sparked plenty of commentary among economists and policymakers.
