The Death of Three Nations

The National Ledger ^ | Jun 15, 2006 | Alan Burkhart

[hedgetrimmer]

Based on the facts as I see them, the American people are about to get arguably the rudest awakening in the last one hundred years. The middle class will vanish, our social programs will fall into insolvency, and a select few people will make a hell of a lot of money at the expense of the rest of us.

Imagine the arrogance necessary for one to believe he’s justified in wrecking three vibrant cultures – the US, Canada and Mexico – just to make his financial bottom line more attractive. Hitler, as twisted and evil as he was, sincerely believed he was working for the benefit of his people. Those I will describe below can make no such claim. They seek only to serve their own selfish interests.

There are a number of circumstances that work together to create the current situation. It’s a situation that crosses party lines and involves both elected leaders and private sector executives in three nations. Here’s what’s coming down…

Corporate Greed…

First, let’s take a look at the wage gap between CEOs and non-management employees. In 1980, the average pay for a corporate executive officer was 42 times that of the average employee compensation (42:1). In 2004, the ratio was 431:1. In other words, the gap had widened by slightly over a thousand percent. This was actually a drop from a high of 531:1 in 1999. A one hundred point drop is significant, but the gap remains far too wide.

CEOs generally hold considerable sway over corporate board members, and therefore exercise a tremendous amount of control over their own compensation. In 2004, Yahoo’s Chief Executive Terry Semel raked in $230.6 million dollars in total compensation. That works out to $631,780.83 per day. How many of you reading this earn 600 G’s per day? Per year? Per decade?

I’m not singling Terry out of a crowd. But this is a good example of the extravagance of corporate pay packages. Let’s say some CEO earns $100 million per year. That’s $273,972.60 per day. If we cut his pay to “only” $50 million per year, that’s still one hundred thirty-six thousand dollars per day. One would think that he could scrape by on that amount, although he might be forced to keep his old yacht an extra year before trading it in. Oh… the hardship!

The other $50 million could be pumped into the company’s retirement fund, paid out in dividends to shareholders, or maybe even (gasp!) used to finance a pay raise for employees. Assuming this theoretical company has 5000 employees, that’d be a ten thousand dollar a year pay increase for each of them. Yes, I know I’m over-simplifying things a bit, but space doesn’t allow for nit-picking details. You can find the hard numbers by following the links at the end of the article.

Governmental Complicity…

Have you wondered how it is that President Bush can be such a hawk when it comes to waging the War On Terror and simultaneously be a lame duck with our southern border? The answer to this question is as simple as it is disturbing. Bush and many of his fellow Republicans are in the pockets of businesses both large and small. You shouldn’t (and probably aren’t) be surprised. Both major parties have long been for sale to the highest bidder.

The disturbing part is the fact that our government is evidently working hand in hand with American corporations to drive our wages into the gutter. Manufacturing jobs are becoming an export commodity. Service-oriented jobs are being outsourced to foreign entities. And in a grand move that will cement our future as a third-world pseudo-republic, Bush and Company are moving forward with their grand dream of globalism: The NAFTA Super-Highway.

Globalism…

What will this multi-gazillion dollar 10-lane highway do to America?

It’ll allow imports from all over the world to bypass American ports by making landfall in Mexico. The American section of the NAFTA Super-Highway will stretch from our southern border at Laredo, TX all the way to Canada along the I-35 and (new) I-69 corridors. There will be only the most superficial security measures in place, and low-wage Mexican truckers will stream unimpeded across our border. Left out in the cold will be American trucking and logistics companies, especially union shops. In bypassing union ports and truck lines, the Bush Administration will effectively remove the clout of the Teamsters and Longshoremen unions.

I’m not a huge fan of labor unions because of the level of corruption within them, but I’m not stupid, either. By wrecking the unions’ ability to exercise a bit of control over U.S. shipping, the Bush Administration will fling open the door to lower wages for all workers, both union and non-union.

The end result will be an overall equalization of wages for Americans, Mexicans and Canadians. That’s good news for Mexicans, but very bad news for everyone else. Bush, like his father, is a globalist. Remember Old Man Bush and all his talk about a New World Order? The NAFTA Super-Highway is the road that leads to the formation of the North American Union. For an example of how this sort of thing works, check out that shining star of success called the European Union.

If this process continues to move forward, the American middle class will be a dim memory. Like modern-day Mexico, we’ll have two classes: The very rich and the very poor. This is the goal of globalists like Bush and his ilk. The bulk of the money and power in this nation will rest in the hands of a select few. The rest of us will be little more than peasants.

Many of our manufacturing jobs have already been shuttled off to Mexico. This allows American companies to produce their goods at a substantially reduced cost. But that isn’t enough to sate the hunger of corporate America. In the interest of padding their already-swollen pockets, corporate suits now seek ways to lower the wages of those who work in service-oriented jobs. Warehouse workers, truck drivers, carpenters, plumbers, and others will all be faced with the specter of competition from Mexican workers willing to work for half the wage of legitimately employed Americans.

How so? Illegal aliens and outsourcing are the tools of an unholy alliance between the federal government and Corporate America to push our wages down, thereby freeing up money to finance their own extravagant lifestyles. This is why George W. Bush has done almost nothing to secure our borders. He and others like him plan not to secure our borders, but to instead eliminate them.

As time passes, American corporations will find it unnecessary to move their facilities out of the country. Our already stagnant wages will be just as low as those of Mexico. The cultures of three great nations will be diluted. Our currency will be replaced with the “Amero.” And, we’ll be one giant step closer to the U.N.’s perverse dream of a one-world government.

What To Do?…

We have critical elections coming in 2006 and 2008. We need to demand of everyone running for office, at every level, to pursue two basic goals. We must break away from NAFTA, and end our membership in the United Nations. These moves will create a firestorm of controversy worldwide. Mexico will scream bloody murder, but who cares? I for one am sick of seeing our nation being used as Mexico’s welfare cash cow.

Additionally, we must find allies in Canada to pursue similar goals in their country. If Canadians and Americans can be persuaded to join together, we’ll be able to return to a time when national sovereignty actually held some meaning.

Unless we take steps now to stop the process, America as we know and love her will cease to exist at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the NAFTA Super-Highway.

[Rockitz]

You can find the hard numbers by following the links at the end of the article.

Show me the links!

[Jason_b]

One correction please.

Our currency will be replaced with the “Amero.” And, we’ll be one giant step closer to the U.N.’s perverse dream of a one-world government.

"...will be replaced..." ( ? ) Change that to, has already been replaced. Our currency has long since been replaced. And THAT my dear friends is what has enabled world socialist government to reach this point.

Here is how it was done. THIS WAS OUR CURRENCY. It is exactly what the U.S. Constitution mandates we use as money. Does anyone bother to respect the Constitution anymore? It is not debt. It is wealth. It was born of nature and worked into what it is. It is an asset which is not simultaneously someone else's liability. It bears no interest except when its owner consents to lend it to a borrower for a rate.

And this WAS our currency.

Paper money was in use and that was fine as long at the paper promised to pay gold or silver coin on demand.

It is not easy to see but it reads, "this certifies that there has been deposited in the treasury of the united states of america payable to the bearer on demand one silver dollar." This WAS our money. And so WAS the following.

Again, it is not easy to see but it reads, "this certifies that there has been deposited in the treasury of the united states of america payable to the bearer on demand twenty dollars in gold coin." This WAS our money. The SUBSTANCE of our money was gold bullion and the LAWS of money in the United States made it LAWFUL MONEY.

Where are such items today? Coin shops and personal collections. Why? Some will say what we have today is better. Is it? What do they know?

What we had then (gold, silver coin) was replaced with what is in your pocket and your bank account. What is in your pocket or your bank account is debt. It is not wealth, it is a debt. It was born of legislation and automatically arrives with interest due. It is a fiduciary asset which is absolutely simultaneously someone else's liability. It bears interest for the benefit of the issuer, the central bank, the instant it goes into circulation and bears interest again when a citizen lends it to another citizen at an agreed upon rate. You may not be directly paying interest on it, but you are through your taxes, and you will continue to do so to the one world government. The use of the silver and gold currencies above, was free to the citizens of the United States and it is what our founders wanted us to use as money.

What we have today people is exactly what the Amero would be except it would have different printing on the paper and it would be intended to circulate among three nations whereas the paper of the Federal Reserve System is more or less meant for the United States. The printing, "The United States of America," at worst makes Mexicans and Canadians feel that they are using someone else's currency. Yet, changing the name to the "Amero" would only allow our neighbors to believe the currency is theirs too. Nothing will have changed in the nature of the money. It will still signify a debt to the central bank. So, in effect, we shouldn't be so worried about our money being replaced, because (1) it already has been, and (2) it is not really being replaced a second time, but is only undergoing a cosmetic alteration to make it acceptable to this so-called "Union."

The move from the above shown money, to the federal reserve note was unimaginably VAST in terms of its legal and sovereignty implications and should have been stopped before it started. It WAS the giant step closer to socialism's perverse dream of a one-world government even before the U.N. existed. But regarding the move from the Federal Reserve Note to the Amero, there's no substantive difference!

You patriots are all too late. The train left the station almost a century ago. And to be fussing over the Amero with no desire to go back to gold and silver coin of the U.S. Constitution is just silly. It is as insignificant as changing the designs that appear on our copper quarters.

[Texas_Jarhead]

"I-69 is primarily for commercial traffic between the Greater Detroit area and Evansville, Indiana. The extension through Illinois to Arkansas and Texas is just a minor spurline."

I-69 is fairly big news around these parts. You may see it as "just a minor spurline" but that is not my impression. The plan is to expand/replace I-59 that runs from down South up through the Piney woods of East Texas.

[hedgetrimmer]

These links were the links provided by the author:

Sources and Related Reading…

• Canadian Activist Group
• The NAFTA Super-Highway
• Enlarged Image of NAFTA Transportation Network
• Executive Compensation (1)
• Executive Compensation (2)
• Executive Compensation (3)
• The Cost of Illegal Immigration
• Wikipedia Article on North American Union (partially complete)

[Panzerfaust]

If this process continues to move forward, the American middle class will be a dim memory. Like modern-day Mexico, we’ll have two classes: The very rich and the very poor.

Hmmm...looks like the key here is to move towards the "very rich" side of the equation.....

[stephenjohnbanker]

All of that!

[muawiyah]

What goes on in Texas is of marginal interest to what goes on elsewhere.

[pondering]

Regarding "The end result will be an overall equalization of wages for Americans, Mexicans and Canadians."

This may be true for the example of trucking and trucking unions, but a basic idea in globalization is "competitive advantage." That means people do what they're best at, and get paid accordingly. Since the U.S. is supposedly more educated and innovative than third world countries, there are more people in the U.S. who can get into jobs that require more education and "mental work", and thus be paid more than someone with less education and/or opportunity to do "mental work". If you're a truck driver though, you're going to have a lot more people competing for your job.

This isn't just theory to me, either. I lost my computer programming job five years ago because: a) the economy slowed and India was much cheaper, and b) I got older (and my salary got higher) and I didn't upgrade my skills. You can't sit in the same job for decades anymore, you've got to keep training and pushing yourself. If you don't, you'll be competing with people who are climbing the ladder and would love to have your job, but at less pay. The more labor unions encourage workers to not have to compete, the more they make those workers obsolete and too expensive.

The thread so far seems to be headed in a conspiracy direction, but I thought I'd throw in a point of basic economics. Should I be flamed as a "globalist?" I believe that we need to control our borders (fences are good), that George W. Bush seems to have a unholy alliance with Mexico (and Saudi Arabia), and we should stop giving money to the UN. That being said, I still don't think we should try to make the U.S. less competitive or we'll end up like General Motors (which looks like a likely victim of another economic principle, "creative destruction.")

[Panzerfaust]

I wonder if there is enough gold in the world to back the vastly increased wealth that has been created since the Constitution was written? I'm not an expert on economics, but I thought the move away from the gold standard was done to decrease volatility in currency markets. You've inspired me to do some research on this topic, as it does come up here on FR from time to time. Thanks for your post, and the pictures of the old currency are pretty cool.

[Savage Beast]

"Hitler, as twisted and evil as he was, sincerely believed he was working for the benefit of his people."

So Burkhart has managed to conclude that it was Good Intentions that paved the way to World War II and the Nazi holocaust???

Actually he has a point. So much for the Good Intentions of our contemporary "Activists"--notably all those Leftist "Activists" who are determined to drag the rest of us down that well known, well paved Road to Hell with their oh-so-Good Intentions. But this is nothing new to those who think clearly and are scrupulously truthful.

[Panzerfaust]

Great post! I worked my way through college and graduate school as a Teamster, working on loading docks two or three nights a week (and full time during the summers)and going to school full-time during the day. The pay was great, but the labor was back-breaking (I have souvenir aches and pains to this day, twenty years later...). I worked as a "casual" meaning I was not on the seniority list at the trucking company, but was a Teamster and could be called in to cover for someone on vacation, or if someone called in sick, etc. So, if you wanted to be called, you had to bust your butt when you showed up, or they would not call you back again.

I still remember some of the older union guys telling me to "pace myself" (in other words, slow down) because I was making them look bad by moving freight at a pace they would not match. I was in a pickle, because I had to hustle if I wanted to keep getting work. I remember thinking then that the whole system was inherently inefficient and was not a sustainable business model. The continued consolidation of the trucking industry and the dwindling ranks of the Teamsters are bearing witness to that.

The days of making middle-class wages doing manual labor are quickly drawing to a close. I keep a pair of my old, worn-out safety shoes from that job in my closet, to remind me of the alternative life I would have lead if I'd not completed my education.

Your post resonated with me, because it is the truth. You must upgrade your skills or be replaced by someone younger and hungrier (i.e. willing to work for less pay) than yourself.

[hedgetrimmer]

This may be true for the example of trucking and trucking unions

This is true for every wage earner except for government employees. If government employees were to have their wages subject to the 'competitive advantage' of globalism, then effectively the government would have to cease to exist.

In your discussion of economics, you are excluding the fundamental purpose of this nation, to protect individual rights in nation of self governing citizens. No economist under a constitutional government, nor any corporation or politician may force an individual to pay the price for an economic theory such as globalization. Yet this is what is happening. It is disheartening to see American citizens adopt the collectivist view that individual citizens must sacrifice their rights because ' the U.S. is supposedly more educated and innovative than third world countries', and individuals can just 'change' whenever the government globalists decide they must. People should be able to change if that is what they desire, but a government and group of corporations that create catastrophes in the job market to force people into changing is not a free system of government.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

You cannot have a modern economy subject to the supply and demand of one or two commodities, gold and silver. New mining strikes and runs on the treasury created many many extreme booms and panics irrespective of anything else going on in the economy at a time when accounting methods, regulation and communication required a hard asset as a medium of exchange. And over time such things are inevitably dissipated. Modern banking, accounting and communication have made the need for keeping accounts in hard assets unnecessary and cumbersome by comparison.

Why should a country's people's fortunes be entirely dependent on how much of two essentially useless metals (in pre-modern days) were in the ground? Today, those metals find industrial applications that further dissipate them and make them more valuable to hi-tech uses than as something to wear smooth jangling in your pocket and being passed hand to hand to hand! Fiat paper and computer transactions are much more suitable to such use and abuse.

The value of fiat money is based on the authority and management of the issuer weighed against ALL THE ASSETS in the economy. Its weakness is in the potential mismanagement of its value. But the weakness of gold and silver is that it bears no relation over time to the productive capacity of the rest of the economy whose liquidity it holds hostage to the vagueries of mining, dispersion and hoarding. It worked well only during intervals when mining was steady and the supply of it happened by accident to match the economy's liquidity needs. Fiat money on the other hand does not depend on mines, is replaceable and which hoarding can be counteracted by additional liquidity from the central bank.

Gold and silver remains useful as a currency only of last resort. If the central bank gets it wrong, by deliberate policy or error, gold and silver can be useful until democratic and economic action forces a return to sound policy.

American fiat currency and, indirectly, that of Europe are in fact backed by two metals. No longer useful gold and silver have been replaced by uranium and plutonium. These two metals (as well as a few pounds of tritium) guarantee the stability of the institutions which issue fiat currency so that they will be around and respected in their management of these media of exchange.

[biff]

You best be paying attention son to what is going on with this super highway/toll road that will be 1/4 mile wide with multiple rail lines running between the north/southbound lanes. It will supply the whole country(all the way to Canada) with imported goods including illegals, drugs, and more 'stuff' from China.

It will be built with our tax dollars and run exclusively by a Spanish company called Cintra. They will set toll rates, operate it and reap the profits.

Ships will unload at newly deepened Mexican ports(avoiding American ports as much as possible) and the goods will come north into the USA and spread east/west on current east/west interstate highways all the way to the east and west coasts. Thus minumizing usage of higher American dock prices.

Oh, and Mexican trucks will have free roaming of our country hauling.

[hedgetrimmer]

If I may also add, it isn't the "free market" that is driving these changes that are forced on the American citizen. Our own government is actively working against us by their wholesale giveaway of entire industrial sectors in the WTO trade talks. In the Uruguay round our manufacturing base was explicitly given away as a bargaining chip so that countries would allow Direct Foreign Investment by International corporations. In the Doha round, our ag sector will be decimated, it is being used as a bargaining chip as well.

Our government is playing a chess game with our domestic economy and our citizen's lives to give transnational corporations 'competitive advantage'. What they are doing is in effect, taking all authority citizens have in their own governments, for domestic issues and domestic economy and allowing the transnational corporations complete control of the supply chain. Our government has been populated with individuals who do not uphold the core function of the American government, protection of individual rights and defense of the Constitution, instead dedicating their efforts to promote the destruction of these core functions of government and transforming into a body whose sole purpose appears to be to grant more and more power to the transnationalists, and remove power from individual citizens.

[dljordan]

" Additionally, the author tries to fault Bush here (as is the trend), but wasn't this highway's idea conceived by Bill Clinton?"

Do you think either Clinton or Bush thought this grand plan up? No, they're just the instruments to move things forward. Bush, his father and all their henchmen are globalists, just not the in-your-face types that were in the Clinton administration. They aren't going to stop no matter what the citizens of this country want. If they can't get what they want from Congress they'll use extra-legal treaties and executive orders. They'll get the different departments to right new "rules" to allow whatever they want.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

BTTT!

[mo]

"The days of making middle-class wages doing manual labor are quickly drawing to a close".......I'm not sure what the problem with that really is...I think a prosperous country CAN find a way to do this....while an impoverished country chooses to treat its manual laboreres as disposable.

[DustyMoment]

This article is spot on. The war on the American middle class is well underway, and the rest of the article is also correct. Bush is aggressively trying to link the US, Canada and Mexico into one big, EU-style organization, despite the fact that the majority of Americans oppose it.

[DugwayDuke]

You forgot the Tin Foil Hat Alert.