Tuesday 8 November 2005

Tin ears

I am currently reading Bringing the Jobs Home by Todd Buchholz.

According to Mr Buchholz, outsourcing of US jobs is not caused by evil, anti-American capitalists, but is a natural reaction to the state of affairs in the US itself.

He:

"reveals the truth behind outsourcing: the U.S. needs massive reform in education, immigration, litigation and taxation --or else American workers will be even less attractive to employers."
I largely agree with what I've read in the book so far. However, I did read one chapter out of order. It's entitled Culture and Hollywood's Tin Ear, and in it Mr Buchholz complains about the entertainment industry being "tone deaf to foreign cultures" and consequently losing sales abroad. No doubt true.

But imagine my surprise when I turned back to Chapter 3, which deals with Education.

Mr Buchholz tells us that:

During the 1950s and early 1960s, teen movies and songs dominated the world.
Fair enough. Then, writing about the Beach Boys:
Why was this scene just as exiting to non-Americans as to those who attended Beverly Hills High? An unbelievably simple answer: only the United States had high schools!
Really? I must have been conned, for I have a document that states that I was once a pupil of something called "Prestwick High School". Guess what - it's not in the USA. And, just like our American counterparts, we used to listen to the same music. Hell, we even had Elvis come to town! I'm afraid that even folk like Mr Buchholz - a former White House director of economic policy - can have "tin ears" when it comes to foreign cultures.

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

Andrew Duffin
Cue one of those jokes about how only 20% of them have passports, or whatever it is...

9 November 2005, 12:09:09 GMT
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Wild Pegasus
"Half-assed" implies he's trying to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. It's clear that big government is a part of his political philosophy, including his messianic view of the state. 
 
- Josh

8 November 2005, 22:26:20 GMT
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Sandy P
Not necessarily true, Hollyweird is gearing their product more to the world than the US. That's where most of their money now comes from. 
 
However - I understand there was one great debate on The West Wing. Alan Alda actually a libertarian republican - gov't doesn't create jobs, entrepreneurs do. 
 
We do need reform on all those fronts, W's half-assed on them. But I will say trying to stop, much less turn this ship is a looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggggg slow event. But he's also spending wayyyyy too much.

8 November 2005, 21:49:11 GMT