Americans CAN Manufacture if Government Gets Out of the Way

China has some advantages for manufacturing that are probably temporary. Their currency exchange rate and labor wages are both likely to increase in the coming years. Manufacturing employment is already falling there.

 

We can get some of those manufacturing jobs back in the US with a change in national attitude and policies. Americans and our politicians need to be more welcoming of manufacturing and assembly operations through lower tax and regulatory burdens. It takes approximately forever to get government approval for new plants and equipment in the US, whereas product sales cycles are only 6 - 12 months in many industries. We need to make politicians and bureaucrats do things faster.

 

We also need to stop bashing big business. Small business is fine – I own a couple myself. But only big business has the capital and resources needed to resurrect our once great manufacturing industries. Small businesses can then prosper as suppliers to the big business operations.

 

That's the way it works. That's the path to employment growth and reducing the trade deficit. Stop whining about China and big business, and get politicians to remove the obstacles to doing big things in the US.

Comparing the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street

Common ground between the Tea Party movement and Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

• Oppose Wall Street bailouts

• Oppose crony capitalism

• Unhappy with the state of the nation.

 

Differences between the Tea Party movement and Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

• Tea Party inspired by the American Revolution

• OWS inspired by the French Revolution

• Tea Party values individualism, entrepreneurialism, and limited government

• OWS values collectivism, third-way socialism, and expansive government

• Tea Party opposes current labor union laws

• OWS favors greater unionization and union power

• Tea Party favors private sector solutions to social problems

• OWS wants government intervention to solve social problems

• Tea Party sees unions and government acting together with business interests as crony capitalism

• OWS sees little or no difference between crony capitalism and free market capitalism

• Tea Party dislikes bailouts of any kind; distrusts government involvement in business

• OWS favors government involvement, subsidies, or bailouts of favored business entities

• Tea Party wants lower taxes and less government regulation

• OWS wants more taxes and more government regulation

• Tea Party demonstrations are clean, orderly, and respectful of authority

• OWS demonstrations are dirty, disorderly, and disrespectful of authority.

How to Live Comfortably

I think it's pretty simple to work toward a comfortable existence:

• Stay in school until graduation.
• Learn a marketable skill.
• Work diligently.
• Marry and save before having children.
• Stay married.
• Live well within one's means.
• Save and invest carefully.
• Stay out of trouble.

The vast majority of people I know who are suffering financially violated one or more of the common sense behaviors above.