(Dear friends, I feel that you all are ready to take on the BIG FISH based on the quality of comments you have posted. They are very good. Chew on this. Enjoy. It is an article from the New York Times)
April 8, 2008, New York Time
Globalisation can save or kill local economy, as the experience of two cities shows
HOLLAND (MICHIGAN) - FOUR years ago, a low-slung factory on the fringes of town here was stagnating and shedding workers. Then German industrial giant Siemens bought the plant and folded it into a global enterprise. Today, the factory is shipping wastewater treatment equipment to Asia and the Middle East and employing twice as many workers as before.
'Globalisation has been good for Holland,' said Mr David Spyker, vice-president of Siemens.
But about 100km to the north- east, in the same state, such talk provokes contemptuous snickers.
Two years have passed since a Swedish multinational shut down what had been the largest refrigerator factory in the United States, a sprawling complex along the Flat River in Greenville.
The company, Electrolux, sent production to Mexico, eliminating 2,700 jobs from a town of 8,000 people.
'Everybody talks about Electrolux around here the way the rest of the country talks about (Hurricane) Katrina,' said Ms Becky Gebhart, manager of a non-profit medical clinic.
As foreign buyers descend upon the US, capturing widening parcels of the industrial landscape and putting millions of Americans to work for new owners, these two cities offer sharply competing narratives for a nation still uneasy about being on the selling end of the global economy.
And with the US dollar losing much value in recent years, the pace is picking up again, as some of the country's most valuable assets go on the block at bargain-basement prices.
For many communities, like Holland, Michigan, the consequences include new jobs at decent pay, fresh capital to finance expansion, as well as links to markets around the globe.
Yet many others, like Greenville, are suffering from being branded redundant by huge enterprises.
To travel through Michigan today is to experience America's often ambivalent relationship with the global economy.
Foreign capital is putting more American businesses in the control of major enterprises based in Europe or Asia. It is also creating jobs, some of them in emerging areas such as alternative energy, where prospects for expansion may be greatest. And it is aiding the growth of American exports, a source of vigour in an economy hobbled by a collapsing housing market. More than 200,000 Michigan residents worked for subsidiaries of foreign companies as of 2005, according to government data.
Yet in a state that has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000, foreign investment has not been enough to compensate; indeed, it has sometimes exacerbated the erosion. In Greenville, on the other hand, state governor Jennifer Granholm was bitterly disappointed by Electrolux's decision to close shop. She had promised to persuade the company to stay, assembling a package of more than US$120 million (S$166 million) in state and local tax credits. The city also offered to build a new plant. Yet the company told her it could not compare with the low wages in Mexico. And as unemployment benefits expire, many of the city's former workers are still seeking their next job.
Despite the bitterness, Ms Granholm has travelled to Japan and Europe in pursuit of expanded trade and foreign capital. 'We don't want to just be victims of the global economy,' she said. 'Pursuing international investment is one strategy to get jobs.'
Greenville, meanwhile, has gained one new industrial operation in United Solar Ovonic, a maker of solar panels. About a quarter of its 200 workers are former Electrolux people. Most are earning about US$14 an hour, less than what they made at Electrolux, but in an emerging industry and with a profit-sharing plan.
'I consider this my window of opportunity,' said Ms Hope Conley, a former Electrolux worker, as she inspected freshly produced solar panels. 'Instead of making products that are going in the landfill, we're doing something for the world. I mean, the world needs refrigerators, but we need to get off that fossil fuel too.'
For Greenville's city manager, Mr George Bosanic, the plant epitomises the future he seeks as he courts new investment. A Swedish company may have broken Greenville's heart, but he is eager for more foreign capital. 'We know this is a global economy and companies are going to come and go,' he said. 'It's a matter of taking advantage of what opportunities there are.
NEW YORK TIMES
1. Do you think that as Singapore embarks on the road to globalisation, will she experience similar problems of these two cities?
2. What can Singapore do to prepare for globalisation?
3. In the long run, will globalisation brings more or less problems?
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9 comments:
Name: Jill Lim (11)
Class: 4A
Indeed, globalization has affected the world in several aspects, be it beneficial or harmful. For example,
1) Industrially- the emergence of worldwide markets and access to larger variety of foreign products
2) Economically- the realization of a global common market, where people have freedom to exchange goods
3) International cultural exchange- where people spread multiculturalism
However, even though countries are getting more developed and entering the globalised world, an imminent problem that has been everlasting and should continue in the future, that is the widening income gap,would be considered quite a challenge to the economy. And who knows, such economical issues are mostly considered rather private and sensitive. Hence it sparks off debate and arguments easily.
People face a worsening of income distribution and even slow or no increase in wages at the lower end of the workforce. Countries like china and India have doubled their workforce, hence putting pressure on wages. At the same time, as technology advances, there is an increase in demand for highly skilled workers, and so the workers who are less skilled suffer. The result is widening the income gaps between the skilled, low- skilled, young, and old and even those who are able to adapt quickly to the globalised market. Hence, this gives rise to a problem. The top are rising rapidly, the middle much slower and the bottom stagnating or declining. Yes, I agree that the world is unfair. But take for example Singapore. Our economy might be growing well, but incomes are only increasing slowly at the lower end, and the gaps are widening. It is not only a problem for those at the bottom, but also a problem for the society if those at the bottom feel left out.
Of course, we can’t blame in on globalisation and how fast our country might be developing. Therefore I feel that there should be equal opportunities for everyone and build capabilities for the future. In order to retain our dynamism as an economy and also to prepare Singapore for the future, the government should in fact reduce direct taxes and raise additional revenues. Well, I think it leaves the government to reconsider.
Name: Toh Wei Ni(22)
Class: 4 Adventurous
3. In the long run, will globalisation brings more or less problems?
We must not deny the fact that globalization has indeed brought us benefits such as better quality of life and spreading of multiculturalism, like what Jill has said. However, on the other hand, people have also realised the threats posted by globalisation.
Globalisation, closely linked with development, has an optimum level where we can reach, otherwise, people will suffer. So, where exactly is the optimum level? Have we reached that level or have we exceeded? This is a point to note.
Personally, I think that globalisation will bring more harm than problems instead of benefits. Firstly, international migration and internet has led to the increased awareness of foreign culture. Understanding the differences among people allow us to learn and respect the other communities. People around the world become more interconnected and this is a good sign.
However, at the same time, awareness of foreign culture has caused the eroding of our indigenous and national culture and languages. The culture built up over the years would be lost and this is saddening news. In this way, countries will have homogenous culture where true meaning of culture will become extinct.
Also, globalisation has caused the depletion of natural resources. At the rapid rate at which we are consuming these resources (fossil fuels), this is frightening. This led to climate changes which we are starting to experience. Shortage of rice around the world is a very good example to illustrate the effect of environmental impact. This in turn causes economic problems like rise of rice. Quality of life will decrease due to pollutions etc. The climatic change is irreversible and cause people around the world to suffer.
As we can see from the above, globalisation will bring more problems in the future. Impact are serious and the problems caused can only be seen when it has happened. Seriously, I think we should do something about it before it is too late.
i agree that there should be equal opportunities for everyone to build capabilities for the future.that is why companies are already sending their workers, even the older workers for upgrading & refreshments courses.
everyone gets a chance, some are even funded by the govt but it is how much they from the courses and how they apply it to their jobs that matters. only with that can they really improve themselves, the company and the economy as a whole. this is also a strategy to overcome challenges of globalisation, where everyone has has to change, adapt and upgrade themselves, according to the evironment.
but if the govt is to reduce direct taxes and raise additional revenues, how are they going to balance the higher end incomes and the lower end incomes?
people with higher incomes would definitely spend more, from luxuries(SPAs) to good food (posh restaurants). but people of lesser income would defintely spend less, thinking of how to save evey cent.therefore, the more they spend, the more taxes they pay. this should also be a way of balancing the the rich and poor, reducing the income gap. and from these taxes the govt collects, it would be good if they give it to the poor in terms of food coupons, to cope with the rising food crisis.
i feel that in the end, globalisation would bring more problems coz not every problem can be solved by technological advances. the rising number of protests from food prices to national beliefs could never be solved by technology.
in fact i think it was technology that caused some of these protests. Examples: the pro-tibet protests in paris.without the internet, information of the riots would take probaly 2months to reach them, but coz they are constantly upgraded on information, and their emotions get stirred by reading bias sources, they erupt into protests, leading to damage not only to their own country but also to the chinese in china. this caused the chinese to have a hatred for the westerners, which would not be resolved in a couple of days.
besides, with the fast-paced globalisation, the unskilled would be left out, eveything is done so fast that it is difficult to trace where it comes from.it produces a new breed of generation in the virtual world that would not slow down to take note of the things around them, to appreciate the nature and do their part on global warming.
Tan Wei Chun( 38)
4Justice
3) In the long run ,will globalisation bring more or less prblems?
One cannot deny the fact that globalisation have its pros and cons.
Why do i say so?
Globalisation causes great damage to the environment.For example, a recent research done by a group of scientist shows that the carbon emission of the world is rising everyday.At the rate of which we are going, human will feel the impact themselves. The glaciers around the poles will melt, causing a rise in water level and causing flood in many countries and causing many death.Then, we must ask ourself, is globalisation so important that we will be prepared to even "sacrifice" ourselves? Are we perpared to face the concequences?
Globalisation is not fair. People with the opportunity and skills equipped to globalise( like us,Singaporeans) will have a major advantage to those who do not, thus, directly impacting on their survival on their rightful country.Also, globalisation will cause a widening imcome gap. This will cause more criminal problems for the country. For example, a poor person will need to steal(?) to ensure his/her survival. Although this is a very extreme case, it is still possible.
However, it would be unfair to say that globalisation have not brought benefits to mankind.
Globalisation had enabled us to recieve information about events occuring in other countries in a very fast speed. Eg. Internet. Without this, we would not be able to gain global awarness on events occuring and also, if a family member of us travels overseas, we would know at once if something had happen.In short, globalisation brings speed to our lives.
To conclude, I believe that globalisation is a two-sided sword. To win the game, we will need to sacrifice certain elements of our life.
I do not feel comfortable with the idea of us dying in a event of flood only to realise it is a price we have to pay for our comforts. But well, follow the crowd - for your own survival
urbpohlsDear Jill, well argued and well presented.
Wei Nie
I am impressed with what you have presented. Insightful and impactful
Erika, good application of the tibat issue.
Wei Chun
Balanced view
Name: Peckkhee (9)
Class: 4A
While globalisation helps Singapore transcend the limits of its size and has brought about various advantages, it has also brought about disadvantages too.
Personally, I feel that in the long run, globalisation will bring about more problems.
No doubt, globalisation has indeed resulted in greater ease of communication and transportation as epitomised by the Internet.
Globalisation has also brought about an improvement in the standard of living in people. Due to globalisation, free trade comes about with it too. Free trade enables the consumers to have a greater variety of choices, not only the local products but also foreign products. This enables consumer to have more choices to choose over thus leading to a better quality of life.
Globalisation has also lead to an increase in awareness of the foreign culture. This is due to students from other countries who have chosen to study in Singapore thus we have a chance to get to understand their different varieties of cultures better. Not only that, the Internet also provides a lot of information on foreign cultures. Getting to understand the cultures of foreign countries is indeed a good thing as it has led to a deeper understanding and better communication amongst people with different cultures.
However, with globalisation, the problem of the loss of local culture comes about. This can be seen from daily life examples with many teens becoming/acting more emotional and getting more obsessed with the pop culture while having no understanding of their own local culture. Globalisation has made all this possible, which is indeed a worry.
Furthermore, globalisation has brought about a problem of widening income gap between the rich and the poor. This will create a very big problem in future if it is not solved. As published in the recent newspaper article, strikes have been occurring in Vietnam over the issues of salaries. If this problem deteriorates, the results will be disastrous. Globalisation has led to the rich continuing to prosper and enjoy the benefits of globalisation while the poor will face many problems such as low wages and even retrenchment. Conflicts will thus arise from this issue of the widening income gap between the rich and the poor.
Furthermore, globalisation has brought about a very great negative strain on our environment. As a country becomes more and more globalised, its usage of natural fuels will increase. When this happens, we'll be draining the earth dry of natural resources. Imagine what will happen if natural resources continue to be used up at this rapid speed? Globalisation has also led to a vast amount of trees being chopped down at a increasingly high speed and industries producing various kind of exhaust fumes that harm our Earth which has led to the problem of global warming now. This can be further emphasized with the increasing price rates of the rice. This is due to globalisation that has caused a drastic change in our climate thus leading to the production of rice being affected. Would this have not taken place had there not been globalisation in the first place? Globalisation has left a very great impact on our environment. The environmental change that has happened is indeed irreversible. We might have been a bit too late in being more environmentally self-conscious but i believe it is still not too late! [:
WANG MEIHUA
4 JUSTICE
3. In the long run, will globalisation brings more or less
problems?
Many would agree that the act of globalisation brings about both benefits and problems.
In my opinion, I think that globalisation brings about more benefits than problems. However, the benefits in some way or another, manifests into a problem. We are able to learn more about foreign cultures in the comfort of our homes, largely from the help of technology.
But this convenience has an immediate impact on our environment. While using technological advancements, such as the computer, we are actually contributing to the emission of carbon dioxide into the air, due to the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity which is needed to run these appliances.
Certainly, the impact of globalisation on the environment cannot be ignored as everyone is feeling the “heat” now. If we do not do our part and conserve the environment, the problems created by the environment, itself would be too large for mankind to cope with and when the day comes, survival would be much more important and eminent as compared to globalisation.
In conclusion, globalisation can actually bring about more benefits, which means fewer problems, if mankind has the ability to discipline itself and exercise caution to prevent global warming and other environmental issues.
What can Singapore do to prepare for globalization?
Singapore can prepare for this by encouraging the locals to invest in foreign countries.
Here are some reasons why ?
1) They must not only study the market trend in singapore but in other countries. This is suggested by the word globalize.
2)As we invest in other countries we can also bring about a spread effect, where we as singaporeans attract foreign investors to come, while on the other hand we also help their country to develop. This can be done by the setting up of a wide range of services e.g Medical hubs , Info-communications and technology, Food and beverage and other specialized services. These services stated above are blooming industries which are growing at a very rapid pace.
3)By doing so, you get to learn other countries culture, business strengths and weaknesses. This will then help us to further improve businesses by imparting knowledge form one another.
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