The catastrophic nature of our employment picture is structural. It is not an accident. This is a direct result of the unpatriotic nature of supply side economics and unregulated capitalism.
Corporation’s fiduciary responsibility is to their shareholders. They cannot be blamed for maximizing shareholder value at all cost. Government by the people and for the people responsibility is to the American citizen’s general welfare. These two concepts in the abstract are diametrically opposed in a world where different countries play by different rules. America’s high standard of living, humane labor laws, and environmental laws means that all things equal, it will always be in corporations’ best interest to outsource manufacturing and most other jobs.
Government of the people is the only entity that can create and enforce laws that protect the American citizens and even the playing field for corporations to compete in America with an American labor force. Free trade is not fair trade as third world countries that abuse their citizens by allowing them to be in effect indentured servants to corporations, sell their services for pennies on the dollar. Corporations then sell these cheaply manufactured products in the US market at relatively high prices with ever increasing corporate profits. This ensures a bleak employment picture until the middle class rises up and demand that the government act in the interest of the citizens.
Firstly, the government should not extend the tax cuts to the wealthy as there is no guarantee that the continued windfall will be invested in American jobs. If the past is prologue it will be used to invest overseas as they will likely get a better return given overseas cheap labor. Moreover there is empirical evidence that the last 10 years of a relatively low tax rate compared to the previous years of more moderate taxes indicate that the latter is more conducive to employment.
Secondly, we must get politically involved. The Oligarchs, Plutocrats, & Corporations have created messaging likely sanctioned by very good psychologists to convince the average American who have been pilfered by the top 2% that continuing to support policies that enrich them will have them create jobs that would help the middle class. Trickle Down does not work because we must depend on the benevolence of the top 2%. They worry about maximizing their wealth which does not necessarily means employing Americans.
We must revolt against further tax breaks to the wealthy & corporations using that revenue to rebuild infrastructure, new technologies, and education. If you are over 45 you should keep looking for a job but it is unlikely you will find the job you want. You are simply too old given the availability of indoctrinate(able) youth also competing for jobs.
The best thing President Obama started was Healthcare Reform that in theory must not discriminate. That leaves the middle class open to create their own employment knowing they should be able to get healthcare that use to be mostly privy of the corporations. With a few individual biased laws, there are millions of jobs the middle class will create for themselves with one, two, & three person companies taking responsibility for their own wellbeing. Just as Americans are addicted to oil, Americans are addicted to corporations.
When middle class Americans really come to the realization that the ultimate result of our current policies is the lowering of American wages and standard of living to match that of the rest of the world simply in order to maximize the wealth of the top 2%, they will revolt. Until laws are biased to the individual, the middle class will progressively become indentured servants to the corporations.
My Book: As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom
Book’s Webpage: http://books.egbertowillies.com – Twitter: http://twitter.com/egbertowillies
