There are much smarter discussions by economists about why GNP grows and jobs shrink over at DeLong.

The gist of which seem to be that our productivity growth depends in significant part on the pace with which we're exporting jobs.

There is some disagreement about whether this is all due to exporting more low-wage (garment manufacturing) or more high-value (call centers, software development) jobs.

A personal anecdote to color the debate ....

A friend of mine owns a garment company based in Colorado -- one of those cool fleece manufacturing firms.

He's tried periodically to base employment in the U.S. Initially with non-immigrant labor, then with immigrant labor, then with a mix with higher technology.

None of that worked for long. Pricing in his industry is driven by Wal-Mart; even if they aren't your customer, they determine the price at which garments like these are sold to America (and, increasingly, elsewhere).

And there's no way to make a margin at Wal-Mart prices unless you are unearthly cheap.

Which has meant constantly chasing the cheapest labor around the world.

This quarter he's manufacturing in Myanmar and Paraguay and Pakistan. All unstable as hell (he's been robbed in all three places recently, I recall)... and even cheaper than hell. His company has become an expert at international trade and finance logistics ... and a global employment shell. None of the thousands working to produce his branded goods abroad are employed by him, or by companies controlled by his companies. Even though almost all live almost exclusively off the cash he provides. None are employed with labor practices any of the nine Dem candidates for President would support.

Yet it's been the only way to keep his company alive.

Net result? Price of goods to American consumers has continued to decline. His company's revenues and profit are about the same as they were a decade ago. A few hundred U.S. jobs have become a few thousand jobs in hard regions of the world, shifting from region to region according to the pricing set by Wal-mart.

As it happens, Wal-Mart became Colorado's single largest employer over the same time period.

Pure, efficient global market economics.

Which is why I think we'd best invest enough in our infrastucture and R&D to insure that our kids can become something other than outdoor tour guides. Or Wal-Mart greeters.