American Business Stomping the Guts Out of Europe and Japan
March 28th, 2006 | by Paul Merda |The American Economy is rolling because “productivity” here is at an all time high compared to our competitors. We are pumping out services more efficiently than anyone else right now and due to our largely deregulated business environment companies such as Target and Wal-Mart have spread from coast to coast replacing smaller, less efficient (and yes more pricey) retailers. Another major reason: Americans are essentially the best managers in the world. The decentralized nature of the Global Market may be difficult for some countries to handle, but this is where we excel. While American Companies are at the cutting edge, there are other issues that keep us from being as great as we can be:
So the shift from manufacturing to services; the gallop of globalization; and the rise of information technology that flattens corporate hierarchies: All these forces come together to create an American moment. But you could be forgiven for missing this, because other forces spoil what ought to be a celebration. In the midst of this American moment, hatred of President Bush has simultaneously created an anti-American moment. And in the midst of American prosperity, rising inequality has prevented American workers from sharing in the success of American firms.
5 Responses to “American Business Stomping the Guts Out of Europe and Japan”
By Bill Arnett on Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
This IS about American finances, right? Record numbers of people have given up looking for work; poverty at an all time high; more people without health coverage than ever before; record trade and budget deficits that WILL bankrupt the country within 20-years (just ask the US Comptroller General); income to the Treasury at an all-time low from Bushco’s ill-advised and disastrous tax cuts; less than a 30% swing in the stock market (it went up 187% under Clinton); housing markets on an unsustainable path; record numbers of bankruptcies; record numbers of home foreclosures; families with two members working full-time or more and still below poverty level; real wages down; savings down into negative territory; entire industries destroyed and exported; middle class destruction caused by an illegal immigrant worker pool; no rise in minimum wage in over a decade; etc., etc. etc. – Did I inadvertently enter a Bushco Republican Propaganda Website? I can’t believe this horse sh*t.
By ken grandlund on Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
Too bad, as you note, that this ’success’ isn’t being realized from top to bottom, but mostly just at the top. When this economic ‘boom’ hits main street, I’ll think about a little rejoicing. Maybe.
By The Cranky Liberal on Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
Uh Bill, I’m as much a liberal as anyone, but once again, your quoting from the DNC talking points. Some of what you say is true, kind of - but it is only tellign one side of a very very complex issue.
Show me where the middle class is “destroyed” by illegal workers. Where is your proof of that? Picking grapes was never middle class work. Day labor was never middle class work. Being a bus boy was never middle class work. Ford and GM aren’t hring illegal workers to make cars. They may export the factory, but that is a different issue.
Yeah the deficit is at an all time high, but as a percentage of GDP it is not out of line with other decades. It is worrying the Republican’s have had no ability to restrain from corprotate give aways, but lets be honest here - if your income level goes up, so does your dept. It’s not how much you owe, its how much you owe as a percentage of income. Not to sound all Republican, but the simple fact is that economic growth has been able to keep that basic number somewhat in line.
This country has had trade deficits for decades. During the 90’s, we had the longest run of peace time expansion ever - trade deficits. During the economic recovery of the 2000’s we have had trade deficits. Guess what major devloped country has the biggest trade surplus? Germany - and their economy stinks. Being part of a global economy that can import things from all over the world at the best price has helped our standard of living, on average, tremendously. Even the “poor” in this coutry often have cable TV and meat 7 days a week.
Record number of bankruptcies and forclosures have more to do with predatory lending practices and asinine borrowing practices as they do on a weak economy. People over extend themselves and do not save. That is evident by our negative savings rate. This is not to say that the lack of comprhensive medical coverage in this countrry does not contribute to bankruptcy, indeed it is the largest contributor (contrasted with Canada, in which divorce is). I would agree that this is bad news for society, but I’m not sure that it is bad news for the economy the way you state it.
Certainly I have argued that universal medical coverage would be a boom to American companies, and the health of the nations economy. I have always said that. Considering we spend more per capita than any other country and get far less than we pay for, this is a resonable assumption. If you want to argue we need full medical coverage, I’m all for it. That of course is a serpate issue, or at least a tangential one.
Income to the treasury is not at an all time low. Please go and check that fact again. Not to sound like a supply side guy, but your wrong there.
In the end, I do not mean to pick on you Bill, only to illustrate when dealign with the exonomy you can spout of Liberal or Republican talkgin points (oh no its horrible, oh yes its great) until your Red or Blue in the face. The reality is far more complex than you boiled it down to be. We can argue that we need a better way to increase opportunity without saying that the sky is falling. It isn’t.
By LiberPaul on Mar 29, 2006 | Reply
Bill,
Perhaps you did not read the quote I had at the end. I agree that there are many people who have been left out of the expanding economy. But it does not change the fact that our economy is one of the best, if not the best, in the world.
Cranky,
Thanks!
By Bill Arnett on Mar 29, 2006 | Reply
I guess shipping thousands and thousands of middle class, high-paying jobs overseas doesn’t count as destroying the middle class. The importation of cheap labor, willing to work for sub-standard wages doesn’t count either – and I see contractors picking up immigrant workers for painting, carpentry, roofing, etc.; why pay union wages and benefits just so some guy can barely stay in the middle class. Boy! Those depressed wages are the way to go, huh? And tell me, when discussing the collapse of the middle class, how is it possible to NOT include the jobs exported where people work for a few dollars a day instead the hour?
I am sick unto death with this crap about, “Yeah the deficit is at an all time high, but as a percentage of GDP it is not out of line with other decades.…” when people far smarter than me warn of the impending collapse of our economy due to our trade and budget deficits. Talk to the US Comptroller General, a nonpartisan appointee, who states that we need not worry about Social Security because the deficits will crush our economy long before SS becomes a problem. And that was BEFORE everyone figured out that Bush policies will double the deficit by 2011.
“Even the “poor” in this coutry often have cable TV and meat 7 days a week.…” is without doubt one of the most bigoted, and untrue, statements I have ever read and I will not dignify it with further comment, except to say you are, or must be, sufficiently well-off that you do not realize more kids go to bed hungry every night than ever before, (See: child poverty) and that record numbers of senior citizens must choose between food or their medicine daily.
“Record number of bankruptcies and forclosures…(skip)…but I’m not sure that it is bad news for the economy the way you state it. Totally inapposite positions.
“Income to the treasury is not at an all time low. Please go and check that fact again. Not to sound like a supply side guy, but your wrong there.” Watch C-Span 2 every day, or go to their website and dig up the charts that do show that the Treasury is taking in less money than ever thanks to the reckless tax cuts of Bushco. Or consult Bush’s latest sham budget and see how income has dropped and deficits will continue to rise by about two-thirds of a trillion dollars a year. And they continue to give ever greater tax breaks to the people who need it least, like Big Oil.
“In the end, I do not mean to pick on you Bill, only to illustrate when dealign (sic) with the exonomy (sic) you can spout of Liberal or Republican talkgin (sic) points (oh no its horrible, oh yes its great) until your Red or Blue in the face.”
First, it is not possible for you to pick on me, I’m “unpickable”. I know “wrong things” when I see them, and the obscenities Bush and the Republican Guard have foisted onto America are, again to me, blindingly obvious.
Second: Didn’t a post by liberpaul, posted AFTER yours state:: “It is Economic Ignorance that will be our undoing. This ignorance is pervasive throughout our population and especially in our elected leadership. Members of Congress in general have absolutely no idea about Economics, yet they hold incredible power that can influence the overall Economy. They spend our money with no thought about the consequences, borrowing more and printing more dollars. We CANNOT spend ourselves into prosperity, if you think we can, try it at home and see how it goes.”
And does not this comment fly in the face of any argument that America has the best economy in the world? That may have been true before America became the greatest (as in biggest) DEBTOR NATION ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET. If the Chinese alone decided to switch from dollars to, say, euros, our entire economy would collapse, dollars would be worth practically nothing, interest rates would skyrocket into double digits, and inflation would become absolutely crippling. Gee, then a new widescreen TV would cost more thousands of dollars than, perhaps, a cheap car. And all those houses financed on variable rate loans? Fuhgeddaboutit! Payments could, and probably would, triple or quadruple in size. (A 1% rise in interest rates can damn near double a house payment, so imagine interest rates of, say 20-25%.)
But if you wish to insist that the biggest debtor nation in the world has the very best economy, well, please don’t let me or common sense disabuse you of that notion. Peace!