"They are gutting America in order for temporary inflation of the bottom line. Wise up before it is too late."
We've seen this happening over time. I wonder if it's not related to the creation of 401k thus the en masse movement of people into the stock market?
American companies around that time period began to de-emphasize R&D and strategic plans in favor of tactical moves and quarterly profits. Perhaps in response to added pressure from the public?
This seems to be the fuition of that type of activity. Nothing matters but this quarters earnings statement.
Thus, America is sold out.
It has been sold out. The business model that seems to be in vogue in recent years emphasizes short-term, quick profits, inflating share prices (which makes bonuses offered in the form of stock options pay off) by whatever means are handy and quick, avoiding risk, and avoiding long-term investment. These latter two contribute most directly to the decline in R&D activities.
I see it a lot in the field that I work in, which often involves purchase of state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation. Time was there were companies competing for these niche markets and they did so by innovating and offering improved products and services to customers. What we've seen lately is not so much innovation and building better products as companies gathering enough capital to buy out their competitors and thus avoid having to innovate and build better products. They simply buy out the competition and take their (often better) products off the market.
And, for the free marketeers out there, no, I can't start my own business and offer those better products and services to the market. You're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars just in startup costs alone to develop these products. Not the kind of thing you do in your garage. But time was companies like Hewlett-Packard and Bell Labs used to, but not anymore (sold out).
This is simply not true. Every (at least medium-sizd) company has a strategic plan. R&D spending is cyclical but it has always been there. Finally, the mass movement into stock market, as you put it, could only help employment and expansion, not hurt it.