Autocrats & Oxymorons

Remember when everyone was "buying American" to show their support for the good ol' U. S. of A.? "I'd never buy a Japanese car; I only buy American!" It helped keep people employed, sustained the economy, and just generally made you feel good all under!

Those days are LONG gone! Welcome to 21st Century Capitalism! Work harder, smarter, longer; take courses, learn new skills, be faster, more productive, be better--it makes no difference! There's no longer any guarantee of a job. It has nothing to do with how well you do your job, who you know (well, maybe), how much experience, training or ability you have.

Ya see, Capitalism is like Communism. It looks good on paper, but in practice, human nature fudges the whole thing up. With Communism, all people work for the good of all. Everyone is taken care of, everyone is equal: a true egalitarian society. HOWEVER: it doesn't take into account human's need to excel, to rise above, to feel like you have a talent or skill over and above everyone else. And to be rewarded for being "better." That seems fair doesn't it? If you have superior ability, shouldn't you reap the rewards?

Hence Capitalism. You can go as far, be as wealthy, as your abilities can take you. On paper. BUT, it doesn't take into account socio-economic status, racism, and a slew of other ugly realities just beyond the suburban cellar door. It also doesn't account for greed. Capitalism relies primarily on investments from other sources, using that capital to create and grow a business of some type, and the investor gets a return for ponying up the dough. Same with stock- and shareholders. Their money is used to fuel businesses. But it's a funny thing with stockholders: not only do they expect a return on investment, but an INCREASING return on investment. As the business gets older, and presumably more successful, the investors want more return for their buck. Sounds fair, right?

Except. American business has run out of customers. Companies have grabbed as many customers as possible. The only way to get more customers is to grab someone else's customers. Or buy competitors; same outcome. Companies hire CEOs who can provide shareholder value by causing the revenue to pour in. But what happens when you run out of companies to buy? When all the mergers have been merged, and all the conglomerates have been glommed?

That's where we are now. The first move is to dump employees. Can't lose any executive salaries! Lives are ruined, but the company stays alive! Which is most important. Next step is to find a cheaper source of labor. Overseas! They work for pennies a day! Never mind that it's indentured servitude half the time, or sometimes outright slavery. It keeps costs down, and top executive salaries high. Next: cook the books! Hide little irregularities from stockholders and employees, like decimating pension funds, or less than glorious profits. Ethics be damned!

Which brings me back to my original point. Why should we buy American now? It's not keeping our jobs from leaving. It's not making goods and services cheaper, only profits higher (return on investment, you know). Look at gasoline. Even in states where there's a gasoline surplus (Arizona for example), the price of gasoline sky-rocketed after Katrina took her curtsey. Look at pharmaceuticals: even while complaining about costs of research and development, and Canada taking away sales, the industry posted higher than projected profits!

The gist is this: American business got itself into this, it can get itself out. Just don't come crawling looking for "sacrifice" from us, or welfare. You have the Administration for that.

Remember the poor--it costs nothing. -- Mark Twain