Can a service economy compete with a manufacturing economy?

It can compete. Doubtful it would win though. But then you can't have a purely manufacturing economy either.

I don't think it has a chance.

You need a mix of the two. The simple fact is manufacturing provides more and better paying jobs and those people support the service industries. A good example is in Seattle where they say that for every one person Boeing employs (and thank goodness it would be too difficult for them to move to China or I'm sure they would) that means six other jobs exist outside the company to support it. That is a wonderful thing.

The economy is hit so hard because so much manufacturing has left and now exist in countries that are have high conflict potential (Korea, Taiwan, India) or is just not a wise idea (China). Add to that that companies such as Intel want to move their R&D and other engineering to India is a problem as well.

Years ago when Clinton commented on the US becoming a service industry based economy (nothing wrong with working in that industry by the way) I was asked about it and I said that the end result would be a long line of hot dog carts with everyone on the right side walking across the street and buying a hot dog at 11:30 am and at noon the other side goes and buys a hot dog and everyone thinking that all are making money when actually no one is making a dime.

I don't think a service economy will exist very long without a manufacturing economy but I've been wrong before.

What do you mean by "compete"?

People who sell hot dogs compete with people who sell hamburgers, but not with people who vacuum carpets.

Good point, I didn't even registered the word compete.

All business’s are in competition for the gold. All nations are businesses. Them that have the gold make the rules.

No, some businesses exist to support other companies.

An the West exists to support the East.

Answer me this, what defines a service economy? What makes a manufacturing economy?

We have to define terms carefully here. They say that the service sector is the largest sector of the world's economy. And that most first world countries have for a long time now had most of their economies tied up in the service sector.

Isn't the German economy successful? I keep reading about how it has one of the most successful economies in the world right now. Yet, according to statistics I can find on the web, the service sector contributes about 70% of its total GDP. Likewise in Switzerland (73%), Australia (70%), and Canada (>67%), all countries with (I believe) pretty strong economies right now. BTW in India the service sector contributes just over half of GDP. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, and it contributed over 88% of the GDP in 2003. China's service economy is growing. If it isn't already over 50% of China's GDP, it will be soon.

So I think a service economy cannot only compete, it can kick ass.

Again, though, how are you all defining terms?

There are service jobs within manufacturing. I worked in logistics which was considered a service job. Without solid manufacturing service jobs are reduced as well. Reno was service job based and now our unemployement is over 15%.

How are you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou......nal_debt



Wow! Poor old Ireland are in some hole......Half a Million each! That can't be right can it?

NO! Not Ireland! My division was shut down and I lost my job after 20 years so they could move to Ireland where they are super efficient! Of course they never quite caught up to our production level but they consume a heck of a lot more beer.

They were marching in the streets today in Dublin:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/brea......ng3.html

Approximately 50,000 people marched in Dublin this afternoon in a protest organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) against the Government’s austerity plan.

The protest started on Wood Quay at noon, before crossing over to the north quays to Ormond Quay, continuing on to Bachelors Walk and then onto O’Connell Street, arriving at the GPO at 1pm.

Addressing the crowd on a podium at the GPO, Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole said the Government was doing a deal with people who had not been elected.

He said the country was paying billions to bail out the banks and the Government had declared war on the poor. He said Irish people were not subjects, but citizens, and wanted their republic back.

Ictu president Jack O'Connor told protestors the country had been brought "to its knees" by the Government and bankers.

"Several generations of Irish men and women" will have to foot the bill, Mr O'Connor said.

Gee, we should make Ireland a state.

Yeah, a state of unconciosness.