Robert Reich and I have come to same conclusion about the employment problem in the US, and many other industrial economies. The multinational corporations do what they are supposed to do according to the current consensus. They maximize shareholder value, and executive compensation, which is linked to that objective. The facts speak for themselves.
The problem for the nation states is that there is no easy remedy available to them. I disagree with Robert Reich , Tom Friedman and with President Obama as well, that the basic problem is a shortage of skilled labor in the US. Moreover, if that were the problem it would be hard to explain the economic growth, and low level of unemployment, during the dot. com boom. The skill level of the US workforce could not have deteriorated enough over the last decade to create a skill shortage. Its always a good idea to improve the quality of the education system, but making it better, and more available, won't change the incentive system of corporate executives. Moreover, its much easier for politicians, and public policy advocates, to focus on education because many would agree that it could be improved and that it is a public good. Its much harder to address the fundamental conflict between the nation state and an economic system without national borders. Some have done a better job than others, but the states that have done well have less antagonistic relationships between labor and capital than the US. Labor flexibility, is defined differently across national borders. For the GOP it means eliminating labor unions and giving total control over labor policy to corporations. The Democratic party is more sympathetic to labor, but the waning influence of labor unions in the US requires it to compete with the GOP for corporate campaign contributions. In other countries it means a closer arrangement between labor and management to achieve common goals, but that arrangement may become more difficult as globalization progresses.
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