Today, many Americans regard globalization as a significant
threat to our work force, and to our very way of life. As
unemployment soars, the American automotive and
manufacturing industries crumble, countless jobs continue to
ship overseas, and the retail sector faces the worst slump
in decades, cries of “Buy American” have grown louder and
louder - in our communities, in the headlines, and in the
halls of Washington. But at a time when an Italian company
has bailed out one of our oldest and most iconic automakers;
a French-German consortium is closing in on a multibillion
dollar military contract to build our tanker planes and
helicopters; companies based everywhere from Switzerland to
India to Belgium are stocking our grocery aisles; and the
assets of some of our most venerable financial institutions
have been stripped down and bought up by banks from Hong
Kong and London, what does “Buy American” mean any more?
That said, there is a great deal of discomfort about the
influence that foreign companies are exerting on our
economy. Are they making us more competitive in the global
marketplace, or less? Are they creating jobs for Americans,
or importing their own workforces? Are they a threat to our
national security, or are they bringing us technology that
actually makes us safer? When they open plants and factories
on our shores, are they siphoning money from our economy, or
bolstering it? In welcoming their investments, are we, as
some critics contend, selling our economy to the highest
bidder? In THE SELLING OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY, New York
Times senior business correspondent Micheline Maynard argues
that despite the lingering xenophobia that colors American
perception of foreign-owned companies, foreign investments
are actually an overwhelmingly positive force. Not only do
they create thousands of jobs and pump billions of dollars
into national and local economies, she says, they
reinvigorate and strengthen communities, foster innovation
and diversity in the marketplace, and teach Americans new
ways to live and work. At a time when our most cherished
home-grown institutions, still reeling from the financial
crisis, are downsizing, shuttering plants and factories, and
filing for bankruptcy, the need for foreign investment has
never been greater. In this compelling narrative, Maynard
shows that if we are in fact selling our economy to the
highest bidder, this may be very good news for America.
Through moving stories of workers whose lives have been
transformed by the arrival of companies like Toyota, Airbus,
and Tata, probing interviews with a host of government
officials and local leaders who have fought to lure foreign
companies to their communities and states, and revealing
conversations with both American and foreign executives
(including a rare and hard-won visit with Toyota’s elusive
young new president) Maynard paints a fascinating portrait
of the paradigm shift that is transforming the American
economy - and remaking the American dream.
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