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What do you think needs to be done to turn the economy around?
- Thread starter supermom262
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Our economy needs a major overhaul. Wages are stagnant, unemployment is at a high, our infrastructure is deteriorating. Also, we need to regulate Wall street, which under Bushonomics, got away with murder. It's no wonder that people, even who are not in foreclosure, are unable to save money. Our savings rate is at an all time low, and people are not spending either, because they don't have it.
Wage stagnation and economic inequality form the house of cards upon which our current economy was built. Over half of all economic growth since 1973 has gone to the richest 10 percent of America's families, most of it to the top 1 percent. CEO pay has skyrocketed to 364 times that of the average worker ? by far the largest gap in the industrialized world.
We need to make jobs and education a priority so we can compete in the global marketplace. We can create a great deal more jobs here in national security, by bringing our troops home and securing our ports and borders.
Wage stagnation and economic inequality form the house of cards upon which our current economy was built. Over half of all economic growth since 1973 has gone to the richest 10 percent of America's families, most of it to the top 1 percent. CEO pay has skyrocketed to 364 times that of the average worker ? by far the largest gap in the industrialized world.
We need to make jobs and education a priority so we can compete in the global marketplace. We can create a great deal more jobs here in national security, by bringing our troops home and securing our ports and borders.
How about the obvious benefits of trading your time at a 1 for 10 ratio. Scooterbug44 or her neighbors gets to go work for an hour and then gets to purchase 10 hours labor of the chinese. Given the choice of a $10 toaster that browns my bread and a $60 toaster that browns my bread, I'll buy the $10 toaster every time. Let the Americans do something better with their time than producing over priced toasters, unless you think they are unable? We don't have to compete with developing nations for menial jobs yet, there are other, better areas in which to devote our efforts. There is not always going to be people willing to give so much of their time for so little of ours..make use of it while it lasts, parity is coming.
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That would be fine except we are buying more of their $10 toasters than they are buying of our $60 toasters. Eventually we are going to run out of money and we will have to borrow money from them so that we can continue to buy their $10 toasters... :shock: ...Wait a minute, aren't we already doing that?
With US high school graduation rates barely above 70%, and a pitifully low college graduation rates, Americans are not keeping up educationally to compete with the less menial tasks in a global market. India and China are taking us to the cleaners economically.
one easy way to beat your enemy is to take his money away.....where's the innovation??????/
Problem right now is......the money you're advocating "taking away" IS the enemy's money. The major portion of our GDP is consumer spending and we're borrowing that money (mostly from China) in order to consume.
So if an easy way to beat the enemy is to "take his money away"...China will be the victor--not the USA.
For the USA to "win," America must "just say No" to materialism and debt.
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What is a better use of our time...selling real estate; Walmart Greeter; waitress at TGI Friday; hawking long-term care insurance; DMV clerks; full-time college student?
What "better areas" should we devote our efforts to?
I, for one, would like to see the USA go back to manufacturing and exporting stuff.
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Define "stuff". Bringing in money from outside our "set" is "better areas", but it isn't going to be in making underwear for an Indonesian to leave skid marks in, as they can do that cheaper than we ever can already. If you pay more for undies made here then it is just a subsidy right from your pocket to the business. I do not deny that a preponderantly service based economy is cannibalizing itself, you and I have no argument there. You tell me what "better areas" are because they are the same as your "stuff", let's go to the export seminar in Marianna, learn something, and get about it. What competitive advantages does America have right now..any? This is an honest question, it is not sarcastic. It looks bleak from Bdarg's post.
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I agree, we wish the country could export more, but we can't compete against globalization. American manufacturing workers want 50.00 an hour, pensions, full benefits, to produce socks their competition produces on 25 cents an hour, no retirement, no benefits. We shouldn't be competing in this space, the manufacturing sector in this country is dieing or dead, we need to concentrate on our strengths.
Excellent question. I find it disheartening that it took me so long to ponder this question in search of a good answer.
I think our nation's biggest competitive advantage is its natural resources which enable us to be self-sufficient within our borders if we so choose.
It concerns me that we've produced a disproportionately high population of super-high-net-worth individuals at the expense of our middle income citizens; and that our low income citizens, due to the loss of decent-salaried manufacturing and industrial jobs, have few opportunities to better themselves.
Frankly, I'm appalled by the recent hi jinx of the Wall Street Robber Barons with the assistance of our government officials.
I fear only a serious recession or even a depression is what's needed to flush out the financial garbage, get the attention our citizens, and get us on a track to rebuild our nation.
During the depression, Roosevelt's CCC put people to work constructing parks, roads and such. Getting the hell out of Iraq and using our tax dollars and manpower to rebuild our own nation's crumbling roads, bridges and railroads would be a good start.
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