When the United States was formed we were a collection of states that were rich in raw materials but lacked industry. The colonies were forbidden from manufacturing by Britain to ensure that they would keep their industrial base fed with raw materials and keep the colonies as trapped consumers.
After the revolutionary war the colonies began to make things. In the north they made things well and manufacturing and innovation flourished. The south remained largely rural and became wealthy from selling their raw materials and crops to the north and the rest of the world.
At the turn of the 20th century the US represented 32% of the world’s GDP. By 1950 the US represented 52% of the world’s GDP. Today the US represents 24% of the world’s GDP. And that is dropping quickly. We have shifted from a manufacturing society to a service economy. Service jobs redistribute wealth but do not create wealth. The US now sells scrap metal to China who in turn recycles this metal to produce more finished goods to sell back to the US. We have gone back to being a supplier of raw materials and buyers of finished products.
We have come full circle in a downward spiral.
The politician who stands up and says “we should buy American” will win the next Presidential election. Abortion, gun rights, family values, and other issues have existed for decades and while people and parties associate with one side or the other, we as a nation are fearful of our financial future. And fear is the ultimate motivator. The politician who can convince most of the people that he can deliver real jobs– not near minimum wage- will win with ease. By the end of this presidential cycle unemployment will be higher than it was when Obama took the Presidency. This will be his downfall. Not his incursions into our civil liberties or his war stance or his back room deals in lieu of transparency. Most Americans aren’t wired in to the day to day posturing in Washington. They won’t care two weeks from now what Reid said about Obama and they won’t see the day to day diminishing of their freedoms and attribute it to Obama. They also won’t attribute their diminished take home pay to Obama either. The democrats recognize that the American public is not savvy to economics or politics and has a very short memory. That is why they are trying to create “busy work” through stimulus bills and government spending. They require headlines that report falling unemployment to keep power and they are desperate for something to spin about. The “well, we lost less jobs than last month” claim of success rings rather hollow after a while.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Here’s a great start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_boAGNPmNQ
Excellent piece! I’ve been saying for a while now that the country has gone from producers to consumers. Well done.
Eric,
Edumacation. Exactly right, however our school kids are taught to sing praise to The One. Not just the voting public should be informed. The kids are just as important. A proper civics lesson should be taught and since they won’t do it in the schools it falls to all parents to do so.
Blowhard,
I agree with most of this. What bugs me, however, is:
“…and they won’t see the day to day diminishing of their freedoms and attribute it to Obama.”
Well, then it’s up to people to continue to remind them. Without our freedoms, nothing else matters. Not the GDP, not our relationship with China (except for the fact that we would likely be their debt slaves, if we aren’t already) and, no, not even jobs. If this Administration has their way, more will be taken out of every paycheck than it is already to pay for such things as an environmental tax.
You are right. Most of America is not savvy and of those that are, most don’t care. But this all needs to change and right soon. Educating your neighbor, for example, of your Congressperson’s voting record regarding important topics (i.e. healthcare) is a great way to start. Without education and information, the course we are leading will not change.