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By Brooks A. Mick, M.D.
Feb. 11, 2006 I know lots of people-family, friends, talk show hosts, and others-who are pushing the "buy American" slogan, saying that they want to keep jobs in America. Interestingly, last time I looked, the unemployment rate in America was 4.7, one of the lowest numbers in history, and so low that it is sparking inflation scares again around the financial markets and with the Alan Greenspan, the outgoing Fed chairman. So, with unemployment historically low, with more people out there holding TWO JOBS than there are people with NO JOBS, why all this worry about "keeping jobs in America?" And just how does one "buy American" nowadays? When purchasing an automobile, is a Ford an American car? I note that the Ford Fusion is based on a Japanese Mazda 6 chassis and is manufactured in Mexico. Now that's interesting, isn't it? Is a Honda a Japanese car? I note that the Honda Accord is manufactured in Ohio. Ohio is, last time I looked in America. Some claim that American car manufacturers are having problems because they are building cars Americans don't want. But how can that be, when so many American and foreign cars are sharing parts and technology? Some claim that the problem is that American workers can't perform assembly as carefully and precisely as foreigners such as Japanese and Germans. But how can that be when Hondas and Toyotas are built here in the USA by American workers? I say that the problems Ford is having with its bottom line are not due to jobs going overseas, not due to American worker incompetence, and not due to poor auto design. The problems are due to the irrational agreements struck between incompetent, weak management and ignorant union bosses and workers. Union bosses have always fomented conflict between workers and employers, and have portrayed the company as a hugely wealthy goose which can lay golden eggs in the salary basket. But there is no goose which lays golden eggs. There are, however, solvent companies, as opposed to those going broke. It should be clear to anyone working in an auto manufacturing plant that it is better to work for a company which is making money and therefore a company which will be able to keep you on the payroll rather than to work for a company from which you are sucking so much blood that it is going to collapse and die. Then you will, like a flea on a dead dog, have a short life span yourself if you can't find another dog to give you a ride. Union bosses, blinded by class envy and closet Marxism, have always tried to suck as much blood out of the carcasses of the auto companies as they could. Same thing with the pilots and stewardesses and baggage handlers of the airlines. Suck.suck.suck. More.more.we want more blood. And the incompetent management always gave in, taking off their ties and loosening their collar buttons so the vampires could get at their neck veins easier. Health care for retirees? Sure, suck some blood! A contract preventing cross-training of employees so they could loaf around rather than help each other out? Sure, suck some more blood! Here, let me cut my own throat so you can get even more! It's at that stage, where the companies cut their own throats through too many union giveaways, that the companies began to die, but it took a while for the union worker parasites to realize they were sucking on a dying animal. Health care is the major culprit in the sickness and near-death of Ford and GM and many other companies. It appears poised to be the major reason for the death of the economy of the United States of America, too, what with Medicare and now prescription drug benefits. But I note that, when the whole US economy fails, there will be no other animals for the parasites to latch on to. The USA has the most vibrant economy in the world for its size and age. Europe is, mostly, "enjoying" 10% or more unemployment. Which begs the question, why do so many of our politicians and citizens want to copy the European socialized medicine and welfare policies which have killed their economies? If the USA fails, there won't be anyone in the world to rescue us or to rescue the rest of the world. Did you know that China, supposedly stealing American manufacturing jobs, has actually LOST manufacturing jobs? Automation and productivity are, worldwide, changing the types of jobs that are available. Those who try to preserve manufacturing jobs are just wishing that they can stop the tide from rising and falling. Manufacturing jobs are vanishing worldwide as technology progresses. We had best adjust to reality. I recall, around 1969-71, the steel mills in Bethlehem, PA, had been shut down for some time, and yet there were still unemployed workers waiting for them to reopen. Worse, some of the laid-off workers' sons were waiting for the steel mills to reopen. Being a steel worker was good enough for their old man, and it was what they were going to be, too. I wonder if there are any steelworkers still waiting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the steel mills all to reopen? I hope not. ------------ About the author Brooks A. Mick: Physician, still practicing medicine but retired from the US Army. Write just for the fun of it, but working on novel in the vein of Tom Clancy's politico-military genre. Email: brooks15@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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