Comment by olalonde
10 days ago
A laborer in a subsidized, low-productivity industry is one less worker available for a high-tech, high-productivity sector. With a finite workforce, misallocating labor like this inevitably hampers innovation and economic growth. The U.S. should focus on being a powerhouse of technology and innovation, not divert resources to low-value tasks like picking olives from trees.
1. Not all workers are fungible. Your average 30th percentile individual =/= the person progressing your biotech industry. Would they be more beneficial to the economy working in a customer service job, or in a factory?
2. It's very hard to be a powerhouse of innovation if you don't vertically integrate. China has taught us this. You can't split out the gritty part (manufacturing) from the fun part (invention) of technological innovation and win in the long run.