Lou Dobbs Doesn't Know What Productivity Is

I almost never watch Lou Dobbs Tonight because it's disgustingly anti-globalization and presents the subject with very little intellectual sophistication. I watched it tonight, which only reinforced my impression.

Lou Dobbs

… you and I both know what they're doing is they're laying a man or woman off and they're shipping that job overseas simply to lower wage costs. Period. Cheap labor, that's all it is, and they want to dress it up.

Tom Peters

I think it's productivity. I really do buy the productivity thing but the point is …

(crosstalk)

Lou Dobbs

Wait, wait, when you say it's productivity, the same services and products are being provided but simply at a lower cost. That's not productivity.

Ummm… How to say this gently…

No, Lou, that's the very essence of productivity.

UPDATE 2004-02-21 21:37:06 UTC: Dave's keeping me on my toes by saying I ought to be clear that I mean factor productivity (output/$) and not labor productivity (output/man-hour). Note to self: use more adjectives when writing pithy snipes. <grumble>Even though man-hours are as mythical as man-months…</grumble>