Every Sunday I look forward to my coffee and my favorite read, RvTravel.com with Chuck Woodbury. Today, Chuck posted a commentary Tis the season to help the Chinese build its economy! (His readers have posted comments worth reading but will help to explain my post for today.) His views are not new and for many years, in fact, for the last 100 years the complaints have been the same. Sending U.S. manufacturing and goods production overseas. In all actuality, one could say the global economy started with the first explorers; the Vikings, Aztecs, Mayans, Indonesians, etc. who traveled the globe searching for new lands and on their way stumbled across all the good things we have in our homes today.
So why start picking on the Chinese? China has had a long history of global trade dating back centuries. Their population only warrants their ability to create new products, copy others, produce products that are far more cheaper than other countries which have been at it for such a long time.
Finally, some of the crumbs are being thrown to the Asians and now it has become a big problem. I think the American mentality towards the Chinese is a bit skewed. The mouth is talking but the brain in not thinking. Many Americans became rich during the 80s and 90s with the concept of personal investments which nowadays looks more like or turned out to be get rich schemes. People invested in just about every type of company, or holding that promised huge returns. Well, some if not many of those companies belong to the very countries we now complain about taking our jobs and giving us back, what we call, low-quality, cheap or inexpensive products.
I have yet to see a Walmart, CostCo, City Club or other big box store that didn't carry and sell the same products many people made their pensions and 401Ks off of. In fact, all I hear these days on forums and groups is, "buy American". I say, too little too late. We screwed ourselves with too much government regulations. Why didn't we listen to the Milton Friedmans of the world? They gave us the answers we were looking for or maybe we really weren't looking for them but we surely didn't want to listen at the time as it was contrary to the money we were putting into our accounts.
Unions became too big also. They started demanding so much that people literally quit buying up their products and turned to Asia for example, as a way to obtain similiar products. However, we found the products to be of less quality. They responded and now produce far superior products than we ever could have. When you pay someone 25 dollars an hour to put on four lug nuts you can't help but wonder what the price of the car is going to be? No wonder all major car manufacturers have made their home in Mexico.
There is one good thing about the above. The car manufacturers have chosen Mexico which happens to be a North American continent. Remember that we have a free trade agreement called NAFTA. It was to have been the beginning of something big. It is pretty big and Mexico produces or assembles quite a few goods along with Canada and the U.S.
It could be bigger. But this isn't about how to beat China, it is about supporting our own first before going overseas literally. The total population of the American continent is still less than 1 billion. China is hitting 1.6 and growing, India has now gone beyond the 1 billion mark.
People want to make a difference in their ecomony here and at home, maybe we should start thinking about what home is. The Americas are home to 935 million people, all of whom, at some level are consumers. 31 countries make up the Americas. We share the same land mass and yet we have no formal agreements between the 31 nations to handle our production of goods on a continental scale. Doesn't this seem strange that we really have no enemies in the Americas, okay, Castro and Chavez aren't my cup of tea but their countries do import and export goods that could and are consumed globally.
You want to stop illegal immigration to the U.S.? Something needs to be done to stop it. Why? Because of the abuse that not only illegal immigrants receive but the abuses that are caused by the illegals as well. Imagine if we created a free trade agreement among the American continent and all 31 nations, talk about super powers! I'm not talking European Union here, free and sovereign countries that rely on each other for goods and services.
Every winter I here about the snowbirds and all the used stuff they cart down from their closets and how they think they are helping the poor. That doesn't help the poor, it only gives them a tee shirt that says, "I'm With Stupid" written on the back. Jobs, jobs, jobs. But we cannot create jobs on our continent if we don't support it by manufacturing, buying and consuming continental products.
In the end, you cannot stop China and I don't think anybody should. China is finally coming into their own and deserve a few of those crumbs. As for the U.S., worried about losing super power status, economy, jobs, and standard of living, can find the solutions right here on the American continent. You don't have to go overseas, stay right here at home. Instead of "super power", think "super continent", self sufficiency, reduced or completely eliminating the slave trade, illegal immigration, abuse of women and children.
Think "America first" but in a continental context.
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