Getting It Completely Right And Completely Wrong At The Same Time

I've got Landsburg's book by my bedside. I borrowed it from a friend, meaning to read it in the hope that it's even half as good as Freakonomics, which was freakin' excellent. This piece, however, is discouraging enough that I'm thinking of returning it unread. Yes, outsourcing is a net good for the country that outsources its jobs. No, there is no "moral mandate" thereby created for retraining.

But he fails to then ask the third, crucial question: given those two answers, is subsidized retraining a good idea for the country? I would say yes. The best parallel I can come up with is the G.I. Bill, which can be thought of as subsidized retraining for otherwise under- or unemployed working age men who have been trained to do nothing but fight wars, and thus would be somewhat dangerous to leave around idle. It's certainly not nearly as dangerous to have a large group of under- or unemployed working age men and women who have been trained to do nothing but manufacture sitting around doing nothing, but still not a great idea for the stability of your society.