[deogeo]

The extra supply is balanced by the extra demand only if exports are zero. I.e. demand for Apple devices won't increase by 10% if the US population grows by 10%. And of course making 10% more rarely requires 10% more workers - you need more on the assembly line, but not more to design the items.

[gregwtmtno]

Those are points I hadn't considered, but what in the US, net exports are negative. Wouldn't that imply the converse effect to what you're describing?

[deogeo]

It wouldn't. Say someone in the US buys something made in China - how does that increase demand for labor in the US? There's some marginal US labor required for the last part of the transport, but that's it.

[ultraluminous]

Thee last part of the transport is not marginal in the real world. Increased local consumption drives transport, retail, marketing, etc. etc. Real life economic modeling is not a simple supply/demand, widgets made/sold chart.

[ebog]

The person pays for the good in US dollars. Where do those dollars go? The Chinese people who now have USD either spend or invest them back in the US.

[raincom]

Most of the dollars go as profit for the multi nationals. The remaining (very minimal) goes to the contract manufacturers.

[pas]

Though thanks to the bigger market the prices can actually decrease, so living standards could increase, even if wages haven't.

[thfuran]

Only if they wouldn't have bought it if they hadn't moved to the US.

[greeneggs]

This is a rather poor argument. US exports in total are only ~13% of GDP. The trade deficit is only ~2 or 3% of GDP. That's a tiny secondary effect.