WHY TALK ABOUT LOU DOBBS ? Not because the CNN Clown has anything to contribute to our understanding of such important issues as immigration, outsourcing and international trade. Even so, Dobbs has come out with two books on these and related topics, and his nightly news show, Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Normally, that should been more than enough ink to spill on what I perceive to be his dishonesty and capacity for hate-mongering. But the size of his audience alone suggests a need to continue setting the record straight.

In his 2004 book, Exporting America, Dobbs published a table on future job growth that blatantly misrepresented its source, the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When I pointed out the error in a phone conversation, he clearly was not pleased. Now he not only perpetuates the misrepresentation in his new book, War on the Middle Class, by rerunning the table, but this time does not even mention the source.
Just what does this table show, and why is it so important? In his earlier book, subtitled, Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas, Dobbs left the impression that a BLS study in February 2004 found that “seven of the 10 biggest areas of job growth were in menial or low-paying service jobs” — just the sort of finding that buttressed his thesis and enraged foes of outsourcing and globalization. But the list he printed, beginning with “waiters and waitresses,” had been gleaned from another table entirely, in the back of the BLS study, and then scrambled for heightened effect.

In fact, the main finding of the BLS study was exactly the reverse of what Dobbs claimed. The study prominently stated that “employment in professional and related occupations is projected to grow the fastest and add more workers (6.5 million) than any other major group.”

In his new book, this time in a chapter called “Exporting America,” Dobbs observes that “no one is saying which industry will be the source of replacements for…jobs lost to outsourcing.” The folks at the BLS were “saying” it not only in ‘04 but in an update in November 2005, notwithstanding Dobbs’ refusal to listen. After declaring that “the following jobs will have the greatest demand for workers in the next decade,” Dobbs reprinted the same list, merely reinforcing, to his fans, the idea that outsourcing, and all it represents, had done America wrong.

Dobbs’ new book also answers another question: why he and other newscasters habitually refer to China as “communist” China — as in a Dec. 8, 2005, broadcast, in which he announced, “Still ahead…communist China planning a massive new assault on American consumers.”

The precise nature of this fearsome attack: The Chinese government had brought about 100 companies to a New York City trade fair to market their goods.
The term “communist,” together with phrases like “massive new assault,” is clearly meant to allude to a time when China was in the enemy camp — where Dobbs presumably hopes to place it once again. Yet, in response to what he calls “frequent” questions about his word choice in his broadcasts, he writes, “China is the world’s largest communist country. Its government is communist. President Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao are not elected officials. China is not a democracy; it is a communist state. The real question is, why do other news organizations and our political leaders ignore that reality?”

That circular statement deserves to be aired on Comedy Central, perhaps on The Colbert Report. Otherwise, to refute Dobbs can feel like striking a fly with a mallet. While China is hardly anyone’s model of a free country, that’s not the point. It’s just a little harder to instill fear in television audiences with talk of “communist” India or “communist” Indonesia — two countries, by the way, that the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom, released jointly by The Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation, cited as less free economically than post-Mao China. Besides, if “communist” means the absence of democratic elections — which it does not — then more than half the world’s nations must also be communist.

Sure, outsourcing has its drawbacks, but it’s time to call Dobbs’ economic demagogy what it is.
There is some truth to issues like Americans losing jobs to foreigners, reduction in consumer satisfaction, ever increasing expenses in living standards, growing inflation compare to the growth in salary. But this heat is not just for middle class. This is for everybody except the top 15%, whose house hold income more than $120K. Since most of Americans “used” to be in middle class, he took a theme which is appealing for his audience (War against Middle Class). But In my mind he is either confused or a typical hypocritical or maybe less informed to argue this is all due to Globalization or by the foreign workers. Well CNN gave him enough freedom to support his theories and spread enough hearted and worst of all his viewers are misinformed. Sometimes patriotism blinds the reality and we tend to forget the real roots of our today’s problems and started blame something else.

America excels in capitalism and one of the pioneers of globalization. Globalization/WTO helps the American businesses to enter the growing markets. Ask yourself a question, how many multi-national companies that can complete American businesses even today’s world in any major sector? No doubt a fresh completion is created by the globalization, but do u know how much percentage of patents are owned by first world and second world compare to developing or under-developed countries?
More and More American companies are expanding their businesses in developing world. For some companies more than 50% revenues are coming from rest of the world and that number is still growing. This is healthy for American capitalistic society and to the American people. This also helps our businesses send more money in R&D compare to any country in the world, and that guarantees the edge in completion.

We all know Government is by the people and for the people and certainly Governments will try to protect their country’s interests for the benefit of their people. This happened in the past and will happen in future. And that’s why we have trade agreements and Lou never supports them. Remember Lou, there is “Give and Take”

I am very glad that globalization is helping the world by bettering the lives of poor people and that is healthy. IMHO, this is much better than charity work, since now they know how to catch the fish. There is always a fresh idea, which will become innovation and can make some money, where was Google 10 years ago?

I wonder why he is so popular ? Lets analyze this:
1. He has very strong views about topics.
Thats no crime, actually its admirable. I think this is one of the reasons why Lou has such a large following.
2. Lou analysis/figures and approach. Now thats another story!!! Lou is NOT an economist, but talks like one; Lous research is sketchy at best and most of the figures he rambles off do not add up, but he talks like he knows whats going on; Lou takes a very extreme view of thing, and does not entertain or accept any other arguments.
I think that it is these very attributes that give him the large following:
At heart Lou is not here to solve any problems or suggest true workable solutions or even analyze issues. He is an Clown. The longer he can hold our attention the better his ratings and more money he makes. So thats what he is doing!!!
Shame on all of us for not understanding this. For all those of you aggravated by Lou, dont hate him, just dont pay too much attention to what he says. Its an Clown!!!!

Lou Dobbs makes a $10 million dollar salary , lives on a 200 acre house, makes countless millions in selling books, lives a lifestyle that would be the envy of all but the super-rich elite, and he claims to be the voice of the middle class? Who is he kidding.

If he feels so strongly about this, why doesn’t he start "Half-assed Socialist Paradise Venture Fund" that invests only in companies that (a) hires only US citizens (b) never outsources a single job. (c) pays 50% higher than what "slave wage" co.s like IBM and Microsoft pay....

Let him literally put his 'considerable money where his considerable mouth is', and show us all how HE would run a business, instead of ranting on and on everyday about "greedy corporate CEOs".
CNN, the most trusted name in news…. Please stop this nuisance. We are better off w/o this misinformation.