A state senator in Albany has come up with a bill that would bar the state pension fund from investing any money in the stocks of companies that “outsource,” or move jobs overseas that were once filled by American workers.

It’d be one thing if this were some hard-left Democrat trying to curry favor with labor unions by bashing corporate America. Or if this were some hayseed Republican from upstate who is an adherent of the Patrick Buchanan school of trade protectionism. But the state senator in question is Kenneth LaValle, a Republican from Port Jefferson, Long Island, who is chairman of the Senate’s higher education committee and the chairman of the Senate majority conference.

Mr. LaValle’s memo explaining the bill says, “In New York, many companies are outsourcing jobs overseas, thereby sacrificing many New Yorkers’ jobs and/or employment opportunities. This legislation will prohibit the investment of any moneys or assets of the common retirement fund in the stocks, securities or other obligations of any institution or company which [sic] outsources jobs outside the United States.”

This approach is so wrongheaded it is hard to know where to start.

But for starters, it’s woefully impractical. The outsourcing horse has already escaped from the barn; it’s too late to shut the door now. As powerful as a New York state senator and the mighty New York state retirement fund are, the forces of globalization have already gone way too far for anyone to turn them back.

Such an attempt, if implemented, would penalize no one more than those counting on the state’s common retirement fund for their retirement income. The LaValle bill would tell New York retirees, “We’re only going to invest your money in companies that are inefficient when it comes to labor costs.”Those companies will almost certainly earn less than those run with an eye to maximizing profits.

Much as Mr. LaValle may wish otherwise, a law of the sort he proposes may well run afoul of the letter or the spirit of the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or other treaties that America has entered into. Penalties imposed under such treaties in retaliation for protectionist moves by America could actually hurt American companies, consumers, and shareholders.

Mr. LaValle’s rationale for his bill is that outsourcing is bad for Americans who lose their jobs. But he ignores the benefits of outsourcing for Americans — lower prices and better service for consumers, more profits for shareholders. Software would cost American businesses and individuals more money if it were all written in America rather than in India. American credit card users would pay higher interest rates and fees if, when they called about their bill, the person answering were a New Yorker instead of a resident of India. Clothing would cost more if it were all still made in America rather than in poorer countries.

The LaValle bill is short-sightedly selfish. We don’t mind saying we are inspired by the idea of countries like India, once backwaters of poverty, developing an educated middle class working in skilled jobs. They are participating in the American dream of upward mobility. And those workers in India and other newly prosperous countries will ultimately emerge as customers for American pharmaceuticals, fashion, music, and books. Without good jobs, there is no way foreigners could afford to buy all those American goods.

We don’t mean to gloss over the problem of brutal regimes, like the one in Communist China, that do not allow free labor unions to organize and bargain collectively. If the New York state government decided to outsource accounting functions to political prisoners in Communist Cuba or terrorist Iran in an attempt to reduce labor costs for the state’s taxpayers, it’d be wrong. But there are ways to press for increased political freedom overseas without penalizing American consumers or New York retirees, and without trying to pretend that the globalization of the world economy can be turned back. In the meantime, if the Republicans in Albany want to figure out how to create and keep jobs here in the Empire State, our own recommendation would be that rather than plotting how to penalize companies, they start thinking about how to reduce New York’s taxes and regulations so as to make the state an attractive place to do business.