No doubt about it—we are doomed.
Or at least that is what Paul Craig Roberts says. Even if we accept the gloomy picture he paints (I do not), it is remarkable that he proposes no solutions. No matter what, he says, the United States is slipping into Third-World status. It is a done deal; it cannot be stopped.
I think there are some steps that will help us. They may not be complete solutions, but they are steps in the right direction.
1. We must quit giving "economic aid" to foreign countries. Losing jobs to a Third-World country is bad enough. Losing them because our government used our tax dollars to subsidize the infrastructure that made those factories possible is worse. In many cases, these factories wouldn't be profitable if companies had to build the infrastructure around them from scratch. The taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize the factories that will result in the loss of their jobs.
2. We need to recover some of the costs of previous "economic aid" through tariffs.
3. We need to make our environmental laws more reasonable so that energy costs in the United States are lower. If energy costs were lower, factories in the United States would be more profitable.
4. We need tort reform that would reduce the wealth transfer from those who make things to lawyers. Another big drag on profits of factories in the United States is the high cost of litigation or the high cost of steps taken to avoid litigation. If we could reduce this cost, there would be more incentive for companies to keep factories here.
There are other steps that could help, but these are a start.
Bill
If not economically then at least socially and culturally.
Actually, he does, they just aren't in this article. The Usual Suspects shriek bloody murder of course when they are outlined.
Yep. I was in the IT sector for 20+ years with experience from mainframe to client server including the latest technology. I started in the Real Estate sector several months ago and we are seeing the same thing as the rest of the country is soon to be realized - no jobs - no house.
It will not be long when property values start their downward spiral, just in time for me to get my Real Estate License.