Why the America We Knew Was Lost: How to Get It Back
America was a country where anyone, regardless of race, religion, or creed, could fulfill their dreams if they worked smart, hard, and long enough.
It was built on the backs of generations of American workers who took pride in their work.
And America was built on the dreams and energy of a small business owner who had a better product or a better way and the persistent determination to turn his ideas into a thriving business that would support his family.
But above all, more than any other country in the world, the United States had a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The central bank, insurance companies, and other powerful financial powers within its borders were forced to comply with laws of human decency and fairness enacted to protect the health and well-being of their citizens.
American citizens are protected by child labor laws that make it illegal to exploit children, by laws that not only require employers to compensate workers for permanent bodily injury, but also laws that require employers to provide conditions of safe and healthy work. American workers are protected from financial ruin by unemployment insurance. And, through the power of collective bargaining, for more than 50 years, many workers had benefit packages to get the best health care available in the world.
In addition, companies operating within the borders of the United States are required by law to conduct business in a manner that protects the quality of the air and water on which we all depend for health and prosperity. To comply with these environmental laws, companies must often pay millions of dollars to install special equipment or use production methods that are far less efficient than other environmentally damaging ways.
Beginning in the 1980s, cracks began to appear in the powerful American system that supported the highest standard of living for its workers of any nation in world history.
Now the apple cart has been turned upside down. Our nation is headed for ruin. The experiment devised by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and their other founding fathers has been destroyed.
Many people are pointing fingers, blaming everything from socialist forces, excessive government control of business, to the exact opposite, excessive government control by business.
But, the real problem is as simple as apple pie.
Most companies that operate within the borders of the United States cannot compete with companies from other countries.
Providing a high standard of living for the American worker and protecting the environment costs American businesses trillions of dollars each year.
Foreign companies that treat their workers and the environment like dumps operate at a fraction of the cost of American companies.
To make matters worse, no, to make things impossible for the United States, to promote the success of its businesses and economies, foreign governments that treat their citizens like garbage manipulate the value of their currencies and limit imports of products made in USA.
During the destruction of the American way of life by foreign governments who protect their businesses and their economies by making it impossible for American companies to compete with foreign companies, our government leaders have been preaching and practicing “free trade” as if it were the gospel . of the successful economy.
While the foreign nations of the world have been practicing “Trade Protectionism” to build their economies by leaps and bounds since the 1980s, the United States, its government hell-bent on Free Trade, has been collapsing because companies operating within its borders cannot compete with companies in developing countries of the world that practice trade protectionism.
We freely open US markets to all the developing nations of the world. Countries that use trade protectionism, such as China and Japan, have flooded our markets with products at lower costs. We bought Chinese products at Walmart because they were cheaper. But with every dollar we thought we were saving, we were lowering the wages and standard of living of the American worker.
Worse yet, to take advantage of the cheap labor costs of underpaid exploited workers in foreign countries, US corporations invested in developing factories and other industries in foreign countries and let the manufacturing base in America crumble. His plan was to reduce product costs by building factories abroad and importing cheaper parts. How could they not realize that Americans could no longer afford to buy their products if they stopped paying American workers to produce the same products?
Chinese companies would not be able to offer their products at lower prices than American companies if China had not engaged in trade protectionism and currency manipulation. Chinese products at Walmart would not have been cheaper than American-made products if the Chinese worker had been paid a decent wage and had a decent standard of living.
The only way to save the United States of America is for its citizens to recognize that free trade is destroying them.
The most disheartening part of this is that those in power know that free trade is destroying America.
In fact, the destruction of America is intentional.
America is the breeding ground for the belief that the competent worker is entitled to a greater share of the profits and wealth of a nation’s industry successes.
America is the breeding ground for the belief that the person who works hard and smart to become proficient in his services should enjoy the higher standard of living, health, and well-being that wealth buys.
The United States is the breeding ground for the belief that life can be enjoyable, carefree, and full of opportunities to achieve the American Dream.
Destroying the United States will not only end this costly belief that workers have legitimate potential to reap the benefits of economic activity, it will also add millions of American citizens to the world’s timid and easily exploitable workforce.
Because the destruction of the American way of life is caused by intentional free trade policies that make it impossible for American businesses and their workers at home to compete, the American standard of living will be lost unless we the people wake up and push for abolition. of free trade with countries that do not share our ideals of justice, health and well-being for all productive workers.
If our government doesn’t protect our local businesses, if our government doesn’t protect our jobs from third world workers who live in misery no matter how hard they work, then American workers must try to level the playing field or eventually live in poverty. misery.
There are two actions we must take, and take NOW.
First, find and vote for politicians who support trade protectionism for America.
Never vote for a politician who supports free trade. A politician who preaches free trade, whether he is a Democrat or a Republican, is a puppet involved in the destruction of America.
To save America’s standard of living, we must start putting Americans back to work by charging import tariffs and imposing import quotas so that our businesses can compete with those from countries that don’t compete fairly, countries that manipulate their coins so they can sell products at a discount in America, countries that use child labor, countries that pollute the air without regulation, countries that don’t pay their workers enough for a decent standard of living, and countries that treat their workers like garbage.
If you think child labor should be illegal, if you think some money should be spent trying to keep the air clean, if you think the average worker should be compensated when disabled by an injury on the job, then you better start buy American products and stop voting for politicians who preach free trade because American companies cannot compete with countries that keep their costs down by exploiting their people and the planet.
Stop voting for politicians who complain and complain about countries that engage in unfair trade practices and currency manipulations to grow their economies. Start voting for politicians who will take action and restrict imports from countries that don’t compete fairly. Vote for politicians who are willing to use import tariffs, import quotas, and other trade protection measures to protect the United States from unfair trading nations like China.
The second thing you can do is buy American. When you buy American products, you create American jobs. When you buy low-priced imports, you are investing in the success of repressive regimes that do not care about the health and well-being or standard of living of their citizens, nations that keep their costs down by not allowing their citizens to participate extensively in the wealth created by economic strength
Buy American and tell your Congressman you don’t want to hear more about free trade with nations that close their markets to American businesses and use other immoral or unfair trade and currency practices to build their economies while destroying ours.
Buy American!
You can start this fall by planting American-grown daffodil bulbs whose beautiful, bright flowers will herald the end of winter year after year, long before other plants begin to grow.
Let’s get together before it’s over forever.
Gary Springer, American Daffodil Farm