Stan Sorscher

1
Sustainable Seattle Indicator Conference Sustain
ability expressed in terms of economic data
Stan Sorscher September 14, 2005
2
Services dominate our economy.
3
Imports now exceed our domestic manufacturing
output
4
Free trade "free fall" in current account
deficit
5
China consumes a tiny fraction of what it can
produce
6
China produces high, low, and in between in the
value chain
7
Airplanes and parts are our last major industry
to globalize
8
Strong in agriculture, weak in manufactured goods
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Services and knowledge industries already
dominate our economy. Services are not easy to
export, but are readily provided by foreign
suppliers.
10
Our surplus in services cannot offset our
steadily growing goods deficit.
11
Workers are not sharing in economic gains
12
Steady polarization of wealth
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• Sustainability and stability in economic terms
• Economic and cultural emphasis on
• growth and consumption
• Industrial base is disappearing
• (markets versus industrial policy)
• Trade balance is profoundly unstable
• Domestic social and political polarization