A Real World Example: How Liberals Drive American Jobs Overseas

by John Hawkins | August 1, 2011 7:50 am

Over at Hot Air, they have an absolutely fantastic story[1] about how liberals end up driving American jobs overseas. This is a story the Left could learn a lot from if it paid attention.

Boston Scientific Corp. said yesterday that it plans to eliminate 1,200 to 1,400 jobs worldwide during the next 2 1/2 years to free money for new investments, the Natick medical device maker’s second major round of cuts since last year.

The company would not say how many jobs will be lost in Massachusetts, where fewer than 2,000 of its 25,000 employees are based. In February 2010, Boston Scientific said it would pare 1,300 jobs worldwide, but similarly did not say where.

Yesterday’s move, a day after Boston Scientific disclosed it was investing $150 million and hiring 1,000 people in China, raised fears that the company will gradually shift more work to foreign sites with less government oversight and lower costs than the United States.

…“My sense is, sadly, that like many other American companies, they are shedding jobs in Massachusetts and adding jobs overseas,’’ Eldridge said. “And this is a company making greater profits, so it’s even more outrageous.’’

…Massachusetts medical-device companies say they’ll cut back on operational costs — and jobs — after a planned 2.3 percent tax on their products is implemented in 2013, according to a new survey.

The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, which held its annual meeting yesterday in Boston, said about 90 percent of the 100 medical-device firms said they would reduce costs due to the new tax tucked into the recently passed health-care reform bill.

…More than 420 companies including Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical and Stryker signed on to a letter asking the U.S. Congress to repeal a planned 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices. The tax could cost $20 billion a year and is set to take effect in 2013 as part of broad health care reform package passed last year.

“The tax is already having an adverse impact on R&D investment and job creation, jeopardizing the U.S. global leadership position in medical device innovation,” said the letter.

“If this tax is not repealed, it will continue to force affected companies to consider cutting manufacturing operations, research and development, and employment levels to recoup the lost earnings due to the tax,” it said. “It will also adversely impact patient access to new and innovative medical technologies,” it added.

Simple minded liberals write companies like this off as “greedy,” but the reality is that human beings respond to incentives. In the real world, it costs money to comply with regulations and companies have to find ways to recoup the money they lose when the government increases their taxes. The more the government tinkers and taxes, the greater the consequences for the economy. Unfortunately, some folks in Massachusetts are going to end up losing jobs in a terrible economy because the Left never seems to learn that basic lesson.

Endnotes:
  1. fantastic story: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/29/medical-device-manufacturer-to-lay-off-1400/

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/economy/a-real-world-example-how-liberals-drive-american-jobs-overseas/