Jobs going overseas is not the problem, but it does not help. The fact American companies can take advantage of cheap labor and then make excessive profits is one issue that needs to be addressed. Labor should not be exploited whether it is here or abroad. Our government turning a blind eye to the exploitation of labor(people) that it would not tolerate in the United States is morally wrong.
The national debt is not the real problem either, but it does not help. During World War II debt reached 122% of the GDP. Yet it did not create a problem. It was not a problem because the attitude was that we were saving America and the world from a horrible fate. This contrasted with the attitude that led to the Great Depression. At the start of the Great Depression the national debt represented only 15% of GDP. By the end of 1941 and before we entered World War II it had only risen to 38% of GDP. With the advent of World War II the debt had risen to 122% of the GDP by the end of the war. If you look at those figures percentage of GDP has little real effect on the nation. It is the attitude and the lack of productive work that creates the hardship.
Americans did without and sacrificed all during the war for the national good. After the war that built up demand kept the economy going. By 1949 the national debt was again less than the GDP. It continued to drop as a percentage of the debt until about 1971. Two events happened about that time that changed things dramatically. America went off the Gold Standard and government employees were allowed to unionize. The main change was in attitude. America decided it was okay to have debt. From that point it escalated. The real snowball escalation started in 1998. That is covered in one of my other posts. The point is that the attitude changed. Also leadership started changing. The lack of decisiveness or willingness to make tough decisions was and is a big part of the problem.
During the Great Depression leadership at first denied there even was a problem. Even when they did realize there was problem the response was that is was not the governments problem. However as the depression progressed and national revenues fell off drastically they realized it was a government problem. Their actions were to little and to late. As I said debt was only 15% initially and only reached 38% before entering the war. The timid response was cast aside when it suddenly became a matter of saving the nation, Well we have reached a point where we again are facing a choice of saving the nation or entering another Great Depression. However this one will be much worse than the first one. The first one the government was solvent. Technically our nation is at present bankrupt. So what saved the nation back then and what is the only thing that can save it today. We need to create jobs. What drove the economy and kept it running during the 50's, 60's, 70's and into the 80's. A big part was the expenditure to build the national Interstate Highway System and the national space race. However all that development has ended and basically the air is going out of the balloon.
Technological advancements in computers and robotics have displaced large numbers of laborers. The real problem today is a mismatch of labor and skills needed by industry. Many companies have jobs that are going begging because they have no skilled labor to fill them. Labor needs to be retrained and refocused. College educations are fine, but that may not be where the jobs are at. Training more lawyers and doctors when there is a glut of them is a waste of resources. America needs a national training program to create labor to fill the many new jobs being created in the renewable energy industries and technologies.
America needs to become more focused on solving our energy problems because there is only a finite amount of fossil energy. Sooner or later it will run out. The trick is to be ready and have an alternative before it does. The following link will take you to one such alternative. I think you will find it to be an interesting one. In France a man designed and developed a car that runs on compressed air. It will run seventy miles per hour and up to 120 miles on one tank of air. You say but the compressor runs on electricity. Yes it does, but what if that electricity is developed by wind generators and solar panels. Suddenly we have a zero pollution car. With the proper tank storage systems the car can be recharged in just a couple of minutes. So alternatives to gasoline already exist. It is a matter of convincing the world it is the better way to go. In the video it explains that the technology is already being developed in India and Mexico to reduce pollution. So here it is .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4w6aJMNXSk Hope you enjoy it. It is only about seven minutes long.
The only way to really change the system is with a complete change in leadership. It has to be to a style of leadership that realizes what the problems are and is willing to take the steps to change and fix the problem. My view is we need a Constitutionally based third party. If you read my blog prior to this one you will understand why. The definition of insanity is. "Insanity, doing the same thing, over and over, the same way and expecting to get a different result." Both parties we presently have are obligated to their bases and really oblivious to the true problems. The Democrats are trying to by the poor with handouts and the Republicans have been bought by big business and the wealthy thinking they will get a piece of the pie. The only way to fix it is to change it and put people in power who will slash programs and pass laws so that the government does not bail out mismanaged businesses and banks that should be closed because they are unsound.
The present tax on gasoline is 18 cents per gallon. We need to raise it to 50 cents per gallon and the increase needs to be used to build infrastructure in the states where it is spent. The Fed should have no part in it other than making sure the money is actually spent on fixing infrastructure. As labor is hired to do the jobs and material is bought to fix the infrastructure it will create a web of jobs that need to be filled. Steel companies will need to make steel. Machines to do the work will be needed and have to be built. The suppliers will need to buy and hire people. Jobs create jobs. Food stamps and unemployment simply develop a deadbeat attitude of "the government owes me." Nobody is owed nothing. Every citizen needs to pull their own weight and help pull America back up on its feet.
Why a fuel tax? It is an existing tax and it is collected locally and should be spent locally. It does not need the creation of a new program. As jobs are created tax revenue will increase and then the other problems can be addressed. By then maybe a new party with a new attitude can actually take measures to fix the problems and make a mandatory balanced budget. If something is not done and soon America is going to fall into a depression that it will take many years to get out of. The Great Depression went on eleven years and was only ended by World War II. Without starting a war, which we seem to be getting very good at, it could last up to twenty years and maybe become a permanent problem. That is not gloom and doom. That is the reality of the situation America faces. Creating a tax is taking and action to fix the problem in America. If we do not create the tax and start a program to fix America and our problems the cost will be far more than a few cents a gallon. It will be 50% unemployment and soup lines. You may be safe now, but will you be when the economy totally collapses which is inevitable if something is not done. The present two parties are certainly doing nothing new. Remember I defined insanity. The Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare 33 times. How about moving on to something they can fix and when they get the majority then they can repeal it. Wasting time doing nothing is what has got America into the situation it is in. It is time for a real change, not the Obama kind, but the kind that does something to help fix America.
Sooner or later countries are going to stop investing in America and getting no return on their investment. They will decide to keep their money at home and when they do. The party is over. When the world economy collapses and it will if ours does. Then we will no longer be a safe haven for their money. So we only have two choices. Fix the problem by changing our ways, or get ready for a very hard and rough ride to the bottom of a financial abyss. It will not matter if gas is just a $1 a gallon no one will be able to afford it. In the Great Depression the stock market lost 89% of its value. If we had the same decline today the bottom would be around 1560. My blog of February 28, 2012 "Energy is Driving America Toward a Cliff, and into an Abyss." Paragraph two explains a big part of how and why America's economy is in the condition it is in today. You can disagree, but facts are facts.
You are invited to use the search bar and read my party platform. CARP is the Constitutional American Reform Party. It is what America needs. Please help me get it started so we can fix America. We do not need to take over the Presidency, we need enough seats in the House and Senate to vote down or block any bill that is not good for America.
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