We MUST Fix The Economy or Die

In business there are two realities; the way things should be, and the way things are. But at the end of the day what business is intended to do is to make as much money as possible, principally for the owners of the company. So you can't blame corporations for going overseas for labor if the balance sheets tell you that it just makes good business sense.

For years I have railed against the imbalances in our free market system, and that's saying something since I happen to be a strong proponent of the free market. But what I have argued is that what we have now is not really a free market at all. It's a market that is rigged and it's not necessarily because of the businesses, but because of policy which has made myriad deals with other nations which have served to suffocate the American worker, kill the middle class, widen the gap between the rich and the poor, and simply make our economy a real sour lemon.

I have long held that the key to the continuity of American progress economically is that we have to make things. Back in the day cheaper was a novelty. It was a convenience. People were making good money, and cheaper goods meant they could make it go farther. Now cheaper is a necessity. Median income has been nearly unchanged for the past 30 years—and that's a problem because inflation has not been stagnant.

You want to do the right thing and keep as much of your operations in the United States as possible. But when there are a multitude of things that hinder the sensibility of doing that, you are forced to rethink things and just "go with the flow."

Taxes, regulations, cheap labor overseas, unruly union leaders...

All of these things make it difficult for a business to operate within the margins and compete, not

only with foreign businesses doing business in the United States, but to compete with companies operating within its own borders.

Who knows this better than anyone? Businessmen. If you leave this sort of thing up to people who have never been in business what you wind up with are good intentions that look good in theory and on paper, but when put into reality it becomes clear to see that it's more than just a mess. It's a fucking disaster.

The simple truth is that both establishment republicans and democrats alike simply don't know what's wrong, and therefore don't really have the right solutions for fixing the problem. The democrats want to point fingers at the rich and big business, and want to tout unions who at one time had their place in the world, but are now corrupt and hugely bad for business, and who have done as much damage—if not more—to the stability of the American workers' wages than even the worst trade deals. And there are, of course, the trade deals, largely supported by the republican party in the interest of the free markets, which again, I argue aren't operating like a true free market at all.

Going with the "status quo" simply is not going to get it done. It's a failing proposition, and I think in part it is a large reason Donald Trump is getting so much traction in this presidential race. On the flip side, it may also be a part of why even a guy like Bernie Sanders at any stage in this race could ever be perceived by anyone to be viable—even for progressive liberal democrats. The signal, which is very clear, is that if guys like Sanders and Trump are resonating with voters it is because the majority of Americans—even if they are unclear exactly why—are finally starting to understand that they are no longer even running in place. They are going backwards. And if and until we address this matter, and right quick, it may be impossible to gain any traction economically.

Anyone who has ever had even a little bit of credit card debt knows that it is much harder to get out of debt the deeper in debt you go. If our economy is not fixed now. If the trade imbalances are not fixed now. If the trade deals are not renegotiated now...

We could lose our standing in the world as an economic power, and we may never get it back. Even if we finally work toward that goal, our country would be a second or third tier nation economically for the next 50-100 years.

Unfortunately, and I am a republican mind you, none of the other guys on the stage—not a single one of them except for Donald Trump—will do a damn thing to address the meat of why the economy is largely in the state that it is in.

Granted, Trump may not be able to get anything done either. I get that. But of all of the other candidates on the stage, he is the only guy stating what I have believed for years when it comes to jobs and business and the stability of the American economy.

Cheap labor has us by the balls and our hands our tied behind our backs so we can't loosen the grip.

But it's not just the cheap labor. It is simply a component. It's those fucking trade deals. The one thing we know of our history is that back in the day we knew there would be differences between one economy and another, and in order to level the playing field we made adjustments—tariffs. We have long gotten ridden of correcting imbalances by opening up Most Favored Nation status with countries like China. We've widened imbalances with deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—George H.W. Bush pushed for it, and Clinton eventually signed it into law—and the most recent Trans-Pacific deal. We have allowed Japan to dictate what we can sell to them, and likewise China. We have allowed China, in fact, to tell us flat out "if you want to sell to us, you have to make it in China."

What America has become, and not just in terms of economics, is a giant sell out, and who has been hurt badly by this is us. The American people. And despite our ability to vote our leaders in or out, we really have not had much control on this issue. We've had to simply do what is necessary. But again, continuing along that path puts us in a very real and dangerous situation. We are at that certain turning point in our nation on this issue among other very important ones. It's do or die. We simply must get it right this time around. If we do not, America as we know it may well be lost forever.

Buying American Made Is Easier Than You Think

Every time I bring up the idea of buying more American made goods in order to help supply more cash to the American economy, and encourage businesses to identify demand for goods made in America, and essentially increase efforts to manufacture their products here, and provide more jobs to Americans who still are hard pressed to find meaningful work that pays workers good wages, I get met with dissent.

"Things cost too much to make it here," people say. "American companies cannot compete with lower wages in other countries."

I tend to find these accusations to be false. It sounds good. It's certainly what we have been led to believe by not only the companies who make things, but the government has touted this often as well, and always like to bring up the idea that this is a global economy, and that commerce with other countries is vitally important to the American economy and her people.

Yet the largest employer in the United States is currently Walmart, unemployment remains at considerably high levels, median income is down by nearly $4,000 per year per American, and for the last 30 or so years wages in America for the average worker has either declined, or been stagnant. The middle class is on their death bed, and the gap between the rich and the poor is ever widening.

The fact is that there are still things made in America, and they don't necessarily cost more than goods made elsewhere. It just takes a little extra time to look for things made here. Among some things still made in America, aside certain makes and models of automobiles, are socks, outdoor grills, water heaters, dishwashers and other appliances, plastic containers, glassware, cutlery, shoes, and many other items that people generally have a use for.

Consider something here that I find interesting. That is that there are approximately 300 million people living in America. If each and every American bought just $365 worth of American made goods, this would pour approximately $109.5 billion dollars into U.S. manufacturing. Not only would this provide an incentive for American companies, and even foreign companies, to do business here and employ Americans, but this would also assume that more money would be able to be collected by the IRS. More people working, making higher wages, and essentially having more buying power in the real economy means less people on the dole, less requirement for the government to engage in social programs which cost taxpayers huge dollar amounts, and at the end of the day this means more people able to afford any premiums that may be associated with American made versus foreign made goods.

In America it was fine at one time to think about benefits of globalization. Unfortunately I think we are seeing the proof is in the pudding that what globalization has largely done has been to cost Americans much needed work, benefits, and higher wages, and has forced Americans more than ever to struggle through their own financial woes with less ability to provide for their families and pursue their dreams, desires, and goals.

It's just $365 a year in American made goods. This generates $109.5 billion of revenue for American manufacturing. I think getting to a point where we think more and more about the importance of making things here, the more opportunity Americans will have to have to find American made products, and the easier it will be to slowly inch our way back up to doubling, and even tripling these numbers pouring into the American manufacturing sector of our economy.