The Race To The Middle For 2008

Ironically, the only way free trade will come to an end here in the U.S. -- at least anytime in the foreseeable future -- is if our trading partners put an end to it. This is a distinct possibility if the U.S. dollar continues to weaken against other currencies, thereby making our workers more competitive against theirs.

So. Perception is reality

No, reality is based on facts, not emotions.

Most people out there perceive the economy as crud and they are not getting ahead.

I don't believe for a second that this is so. If you can't get ahead in this economy then you have no one to blame other than yourself. And therein lies the problem. There are large numbers of people within the U.S. who refuse to take responsibility for their lives. Instead, they choose to blame government, free trade, outsourcing, globalism, transnational corporations, sunspots and who knows what else for their inability to figure out how to get what they want from life when, in fact, the responsibility lies squarely on their own shoulders.

This is the same class of folks who won't get educated when they're surrounded by educational opportunities; who never seem interested in developing or updating skill sets to make themselves more valuable to their employers, and who think their employer owes them a living. These same people are incapable of taking initiative and have never understood that ones ability to create value for an employer is how a persons value to an organization is determined. Finally, these people won't change because they're too busy pointing the finger at others in a desperate attempt to rationalize why things are they way they are.

You control your life even though you may not realize it. You also live at a time, and in a country, offering more opportunities than at any other time in history. Rather than seizing the day, the weaklings resort to wasting their time talking about limitations instead of pursuing possibilities. These are the perfect individuals to actively participate in the Democratic Party. The democrats will appeal to their need to assign blame to others while passing legislation that soaks those who dared to be successful. These same people appreciate being told that "the man" is holding them down so their dissatisfaction with their life isn't really their fault. It's absolutely pathetic.

You can say what you will, but people vote how the think their pocket book is. And apparantly many are not happy.

Here you have a nice photo:

I'm sure it's nice. I just can't see it. But I'm pleased you liked my graph so much anyway.

It is my fervent hope that someday you'll finally understand and appreciate capitalism.