America Today - Dangerously Vulnerable

Economy In Crisis ^ | Oct 30, 2006 | Thomas Hefner

[A. Pole]

1. Wholesale sellout of core strategic assets to foreign acquirers: according to official figures, more than 8,000 American companies have been sold to foreign corporations in the last 10 years for at least $1.2 trillion (US Dept of Commerce)

2. Decline of vital industries through bankruptcy, foreign predatory competition, and foreign acquisition: foreign interests now own a majority of US industries in areas like mining, publishing/movies, cement, mineral manufacturing, rubber and plastics, and engine manufacturing and own substantial portions in areas like pharmaceuticals, glass, coal, chemicals, industrial machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum, and others (Internal Revenue Service)

3. Inability to manufacture competitively: American manufacturers suffer a 30+ percent structural cost disadvantage compared to overseas competitors through taxes, health and pension benefits, litigation, regulation, and energy costs – this disadvantage is more than the total labor cost of production in many other countries (National Association of Manufacturers)

4. Overdependence on imports: $1 in $4 of US consumption of manufactured goods now goes immediately and directly to imports (US Dept of Commerce)

5. Massive wealth transfer to foreign ownership: our trade deficit, at $723 billion in 2005, is funding foreign competitors with $1.4 million per minute of our dollars or $2,400 per US person per year spent on imported cars, clothes, toys, and thousands of other products (US Census)

6. Loss of job and career opportunities for people at all educational levels: 3 million high-paying manufacturing jobs lost over past 5 years (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

7. Transition to low-paying services-oriented (“servant”) economy: high-paying goods-producing industries have lost net employment over the past 25 years while non-tradable service-providing employment has nearly doubled (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

8. Insourcing of foreign manufacturers destroys our domestic industries, takes profits and taxes overseas, and provides only low-skill jobs for American workers: foreign manufacturers operating in the US now account for over 20 percent of our exports and manufacturing assets, and a large percentage of our employment (Internal Revenue Service)

9. Foreign financing of vast majority of government debt: foreign countries now control 47 percent of our total federal deficit and finance nearly 100 percent of all new borrowings – our competitors are now our bankers (US Federal Reserve)

10. Outsourcing key manufacturing, research, and design: unchecked offshore outsourcing benefits individual companies and shareholders but destroys entire industries and communities

11. Lost scientific, engineering, technological prowess: in 2004, China and India graduated a combined 950,000 engineers versus 70,000 in the US. US ranks near the bottom of science/math proficiency (Associated Press)

12. Wealth shift into less productive assets: residential real estate now represents a record 38 percent of household net worth on record over-inflated home valuations and record mortgage levels (US Federal Reserve)

13. Record levels of personal and government debt: household liabilities at record levels, federal government adding record levels of debt each year financed mostly by foreign countries, trade deficits transferring unprecedented accelerating amounts of wealth to foreign hands each year (US Federal Reserve)

14. Misleading commonly used economic statistics: misleading incomplete statistics like GDP, job creation, and productivity belie our crumbling economic infrastructure

Proven failed trade policies and other legislation contributing to our demise continue unchallenged: destroying our industry and allowing our assets to be sold or taken from us If these trends continue unabated, what future could we possibly have? This wealth of this country was created under far different conditions than those that now exist. We are being misled into believing a false sense of perpetual invulnerable self-sufficiency. We largely fail to acknowledge just how extremely vulnerable we are. Given the scale of the problems outlined below, any single major disruption to our economy could have devastating consequences.

[A. Pole]

7.    Transition to low-paying services-oriented (“servant”) economy: high-paying goods-producing industries have lost net employment over the past 25 years while non-tradable service-providing employment has nearly doubled (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Free trade bump

[Strategerist]

Transition to low-paying services-oriented (“servant”) economy: high-paying goods-producing industries have lost net employment over the past 25 years while non-tradable service-providing employment has nearly doubled (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

ROFL..well, at least this article is a nice compendium of economic idiocy, all in one place.

Above of course is the silly myth that the ONLY good job is a manufacturing job, and all "service" jobs are working the register at McDonald's.

I guess it's more desireable to make t-shirts in a sweatshop than be a lawyer or orthodontist.

[beyond the sea]

If these trends continue unabated, what future could we possibly have?

None.

But that is the plan.

Check out SPP when you get a chance. That's really a beautiful Constitutional plan (barf).

****

I think it's way past time for more folks here at FR and elsewhere to come to the conscious awareness that there are very big movers and shakers in and out of our government who plan to weaken and destroy the country as we knew it.

If we don't admit it, there certainly is nothing to be done about it.

[raybbr]

I guess it's more desireable to make t-shirts in a sweatshop than be a lawyer or orthodontist.

That's the perfect super-capitalist hyperbole. Since when is everyone qualified or even capable of being a lawyer or an orthodontist? Get your gardener to fix your teeth. I am sure he's cheaper than your dentist.

[Strategerist]

That's the perfect super-capitalist hyperbole. Since when is everyone qualified or even capable of being a lawyer or an orthodontist? Get your gardener to fix your teeth. I am sure he's cheaper than your dentist.

Would you be in favor of destroying robots or other manufacturing machinery to increase the number of manufacturing jobs for unskilled Americans?

[A. Pole]

Would you be in favor of destroying robots or other manufacturing machinery to increase the number of manufacturing jobs for unskilled Americans?

Cheap labor is the main inhibitor of technological progress as ancient Egypt or Chines demonstrated.

If wages were high because of tariff barriers the "robots or other manufacturing machinery" would be replacing menial work and Americans would have more free time/vacations.

[Uncle Ike]

" Would you be in favor of destroying robots or other manufacturing machinery to increase the number of manufacturing jobs for unskilled Americans "

You're getting dangerously close to saying "Let 'em eat cake" --

Think "Torchlight and pitchforks"...... (or, the modern version - Dem Takeover)

[Strategerist]

If wages were high because of tariff barriers

Wow, so you're a tax-raiser? Unusual to see on on FR.

[raybbr]

Would you be in favor of destroying robots or other manufacturing machinery to increase the number of manufacturing jobs for unskilled Americans?

Would YOU be in favor of choosing who gets to be a vaunted lawyer or orthodontist and who gets to starve because they don't have anywhere to work?

[Prophet in the wilderness]

I am just a simple citizen in this land, and other than voting, and buying ( MADE IN AMERICA ) goods, there is nothing really I or you can do about it.
I know that sounds pessimistic, but, what can a average person do ? Pray ? Vote ?

[Nitro]

I guess it's more desireable to make t-shirts in a sweatshop than be a lawyer or orthodontist.

Bull, your Dentist will be from India and your T-shirts will be sold by a Pakistani.

And an American idiot with no job will blame them.

[Dick Bachert]

Sounds like a promotional piece for the Fair Tax to me -- which is probably DOA for the next two years at least with Rangel head of Ways to be Mean Committee.

[SpaceBar]

Right now we have a two party monopoly on power consisting of eurostyle socialists (D) versus global mercantilists (R). Both will sell us up the river with the only difference being a matter of style.

[dforest]

This is the truth.

[Strategerist]

Would YOU be in favor of choosing who gets to be a vaunted lawyer or orthodontist and who gets to starve because they don't have anywhere to work?

Does the Democratic National Committee offer a service now where they'll write your FR replies for you? Who exactly is starving in the US at the moment?

[beyond the sea]

I see it as pretty much hopeless.

[beyond the sea]

Sounds like a promotional piece for the Fair Tax to me ---

The Fair Tax would be great.

[krunkygirl]

save

[Strategerist]

My main point is the original article engaged in a typical abuse of statistics in equating "service" with "menial."

I'd suspect 90% of the people reading and replying on this thread have "service" jobs and they're making more on average than those with "manufacturing" category jobs.

The idea that the goal of a society is to maximize manufacturing jobs above all else is absurd - just as it would be absurd to create some sort of romantic fascination with farm jobs as the only "good" or "real" jobs - the main way civilizations have advanced in the last 6000 years has been by putting farmers out of business.