U.S. states, cities welcome investment from abroad

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.startribune.com/business/25446784.html?page=1&c=y

By THE ECONOMIST

Last update: July 14, 2008 - 6:00 PM

Eighty-five Alabamians descended on Britain this week. Despite the timing, they will not be tourists in garish shorts. This group wears pinstriped suits and includes Alabama's governor. Its destination is the Farnborough Air Show. Their goal, in flying overseas, is to persuade foreign investors to return the favor.

In America's political lexicon, few words are more poisonous than "outsourcing." Foreign direct investment in America, meanwhile, is politically fraught; witness the uproar in St. Louis over a Belgian brewer's successful bid for Anheuser-Busch. But behind this debate, foreign investors are being wooed by a growing number of politicians, from Manhattan to Mobile, Ala. "Globalization is a reality," explained Sam Jones, Mobile's mayor. "You can sit around and wish that something else was taking place or you can take advantage of globalization, what we call 'insourcing.'"

Foreign investors went shopping in the United States last year, attracted partly by the cheap dollar. Spending to acquire or establish American businesses grew to $276.8 billion in 2007, 67 percent more than in 2006 and the highest level since the peak in 2000, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The vast share of this was acquisitions, but spending on existing businesses grew too, up by 29 percent over 2006. Net foreign direct investment, which also includes funding for existing operations, was $204.4 billion, up by 13 percent. More Americans are getting their paychecks from foreign firms: 5.3 million in 2006, or 4.5 percent of the private workforce.

This growth comes despite a host of obstacles. Visa rules remain a deterrent. China's attempt to acquire an American oil company in 2005 and Dubai Ports' bid to operate six big harbors in 2006 were met with panic. Congressmen agonized over security in both cases. But protectionism extends beyond strategic assets -- unless you count beer as a national resource.


FULL 2 page story at link.

[kestrel91316]

1. We are now the largest Third World country on the planet,

begging for crumbs.