judd's blog

It's official. Foxconn doesn't know the difference between the word "denial" and a river in Egypt. Apple recently discovered that its favorite uber-supplier has been employing underaged labor, despites claims to the contrary, according to an internal report. Now that corporations are considered people, does that mean the Taiwan-based company is the ultimate corporate playboy?

During the 2000s, U.S. manufacturing, still the largest sector of its type worldwide, took a gargantuan hit, thanks in part to globalization (China's entry into the WTO). But it managed to rebound a bit in the early 2010s, helping lead the nation out of the Great Recession of 2008. That renaissance, however, may be short-lived.

Conservative pundit Phyliss Schlafly has several bones to pick with President Barack Obama over his administration's championing of recent free trade agreements. She contends they do little to advance the creation of more U.S. jobs to put the estimated 23 million out-of-work Americans into full-time employment. 

Bad news! Bad news! The nation's global trade gap expanded $6.6 billion in November to $48.7 billion, with imports rising faster than exports. The deficit with China, however, fell. A glimmer of hope?

With the president's second-term inauguration here, the nation seems to be abuzz about guns, jobs and the federal budget but what U.S. leaders should be more concerned about is global trade -- specifically with China, which more directly affects White House job creation goals.

Manufacturing Made in America products may be the hottest trend these days but how is it affecting the environment, an even hotter-button issue? A California-based entrepreneur may have the answer.

The nation's continuously expanding trade deficit of the past decade isn't as bad as once thought, thanks to new ways of measuring trade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has teamed up with the World Trade Organization to give a more accurate picture of world commerce. 

Is it an almost MLK Day miracle? The nation's largest retailer promises to boost its purchase of U.S.-sourced merchandise it will offer in its stores by $5 billion a year over the next decade. That's barely a dent in the $335 billion it already spends a year worldwide. Still, better than nothing, we guess.

It's about jobs, stupid. All the blather over debt ceilings and fiscal cliffs needs to be reframed. More gainful employment for more Americans means lower deficits. Lowering the unemployment rate will go a long way toward resolving the nation's financial woes.

Regional trade alliances such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership threaten to imperil efforts by the World Trade Organization to broker multi-lateral agreements designed to bring the benefits of free trade to all -- not just rich multinational corporations.