“…Truth be told,
globalization to this point has created few, if any, new jobs in or outside of
America. In fact, with the exception of workers in Communist countries, like
China and Russia, it’s actually caused a decline in the standard of living for
most working people globally…”
It’s The Economy Stupid… The Global Economy…
Stupid
By Bruce P.
As printed in The Bucks County Courier
Times
With most large American corporations now becoming
American multinational corporations – incorporating off shore, paying little to
no taxes, employing cheap foreign labor – some important new questions need to
be asked.
First, what is the American economy? Second,
by what metric do we gauge the vibrancy of that economy and its ability to
generate personal prosperity; and third, are the old standard measures: the
stock market, unemployment, inflation, and job creation, still valid, truthful
economic indicators?
The Market
If one is able to gauge the vitality of America’s
economy via the stock exchange; how then, does its strong performance benefit
the average American? The fact is… for the most part it
doesn’t.
With the advent of globalization, (formerly American
companies now having workforces, infrastructures and technologies located
worldwide), there is little direct relationship between them and the
micro-economies of most American’s.
One often wonders then, why it is that positive market performance is touted
by the mainstream media as if it were something the average working American
should celebrate; as it’s the transnational investor who reaps, most directly,
those market windfalls.
Truth be told, most
working Americans hold no market investments whatsoever. If they do, they’ve
usually acquired them through an employer sanctioned benefits package.
Unfortunately, that perk automatically makes them, and their jobs, more
vulnerable to a global workforce bereft of such
advantage.
Today, because of globalization, every employment
benefit from healthcare coverage through retirement income is in jeopardy; as
all workplace benefits, in and of themselves, constitute competitive
disadvantages.
The next question becomes: can the US economy
maintain a competitive advantage, globally, if forced to maintain social
programs like: Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Compensation, etc.,
when having to compete with the third world?
The answer: of
course not – but that’s where privatization comes in. Privatization will
allow these programs to devolve and die - out of sight - within the private
sector; causing much less pain politically and without a direct cause and effect
linkage to globalization.
Unemployment
In circa 1982,
President Reagan changed the methodology for calculating unemployment. He
determined that the US military should be included in the statistical baseline
used to calculate unemployment. Unfortunately, that not only skewed the
unemployment figures it also made economic extrapolations generated from them
meaningless.
Moreover, rather than extract unemployment data
from income tax forms, our government chooses instead to draw its unemployment
figures from the number of claims filed; which means once your benefits have
expired, working or not, you’re automatically off the rolls and presumed
employed statistically.
Inflation
The US
government doesn’t include some very costly everyday expenses in their inflation
statistics. Many of these items have recently experienced
hyperinflation. Items such as tolls, and fuel – even domestic expenses:
haircuts, plumber’s bills, etc., are excluded from statistical analysis.
What then is the major negative inflationary pressure? YOUR
WAGES! Luckily, when adjusted for inflation, they have remained stagnant
over the last thirty years.
Job creation: The federal
government doesn’t maintain statistics regarding the number of jobs lost to the
global economy. So when someone quotes job creation numbers, those figures
conveniently enough, can’t be measured with respect to concurrent job
losses.
Also, there’s a built in relativity within political
discourse when discussing global job creation. To our federal government a job
at Wal-Mart or McDonalds is equivalent to a job at Ford Motor Company or US
Steel; irrespective of the vast differences in pay, healthcare benefits or
working conditions.
Additionally, according to the Department of
Labor, most new American jobs are created by newly formed small
businesses. However, according to that same agency, upwards of 90% of
those new businesses will fail within their first year of operation… taking with
them any newly created jobs.
Truth be told, globalization to
this point has created few, if any, new jobs in or outside of America. In fact,
with the exception of workers in Communist countries, like China and Russia,
it’s actually caused a decline in the standard of living for most working people
globally.
What’s needed today is a whole new
lexicon that speaks truthfully to America’s working people regarding their
economy, their country and its changing social contract. Only then will
our government regain its lost credibility.
However, if that
conversation does take place, one salient question must be answered: qui
bono?
About
the author
Bruce has been a lifelong resident of Bucks County; is
married and the father of two adult children. After pursuing undergraduate
studies in the 1970’s, he acted in various capacities within the corporate
setting, including owning and operating his own business.
Send Bruce an E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://gothinkblog.com/?p=413
