Global Forces Find Gary

“Global Forces Find Gary”

By: David Greising

Chicago Tribune: Section 5 (Business)

Page 1 (continued on pg. 16)

10/1/2006

This article discussed Noble Prize winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz’s return to his hometown of Gary, Indiana. He is an expert on globalization and it’s effects around the world. He relates his findings from around the world to the situation Gary is currently in. Stiglitz says, “Much of the problems facing Gary are the same problems facing less-developed countries.” Gary may have been in the midst of an economic boom during Stiglitz’s childhood when the steel industry was flourishing, but it has since been a landmark for economic failure. Many steel mills have since been downsized or even eliminated due to German dominance of the industry. Greising uses census information to help back this up. Since 1980, the population has dropped almost 20 percent and medium household income is only $27,195. However, globalization has also created some jobs in Gary. Luxembourg-based Arcelor Mittal is one of Gary’s largest employers.

In Stiglitz’s new book, he outlines a few ideas that can make globalization work for less-developed countries. Greising portrays Stiglitz’s thoughts by saying, “He promotes changes in the way intellectual property is protected, economic incentives for protecting the environment, debt forgiveness and protection against new monopolies. He wants less-developed countries to be adequately compensated for their resources and encouraged to develop their own technologies.” Stiglitz feels that these are much of the same problems facing Gary, “They have these people who are not part of the community. They don’t identify with the community. They don’t invest back into the community.” Stiglitz also address the depopulation problem in Gary by again relating this city to poor countries. Men are forced to leave their home in order to find work elsewhere and then rarely come back. In less developed countries the most intelligent young people leave to obtain an education and never come back either. Greising breaks down the problem simply, “Not enough money. No momentum. No unique resources that might attract new investment.” The article ends with a valuable realization of Stiglitz’s. He says, “Poor countries can’t make the investments in knowledge and technology that are necessary to compete on the global landscape. That keeps them poor so they can’t invest.”

The author of this article merely portrayed the thoughts and beliefs of Stiglitz so my critique will be based on Stiglitz and his various quotes throughout the article. When speaking about the short-term health of both Gary, Indiana and less-developed countries, Stiglitz seems to find