How to Really Make America Great Again/caption
Weve indulged in this fiction that we can build a vibrant economy by deregulating the financial sector and cutting taxes and putting off investments in things like infrastructure and education and our kids. But we cant anymore. And now we have to ask the question about what really went wrong." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) from Rana Foroohars Makers and Takers" (2016)
To solve this pressing and systemic problem the last place to look for insight is to any big government progressive like Elizabeth Warren. Likewise to her fellow travelers of Congresss spendthrift establishment (of both parties). In truth the insulated beltway bubble has no clue regarding what fundamentally remains wrong with Americas economy. Ms. Warrens so-called solution investments in things" is code for increased federal deficit spending. Yet the government is flat broke: thanks in large measure to the already-tried-and-failed policies of Barack Obama and Ms. Warrens fellow Democrats. In fact over President Obamas two terms the average annual GDP growth was a measly 1.48. Another disgrace was his virtual doubling of the nations debt by a whopping $9.3 trillion. Funding wasteful schemes like his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (more commonly known as the Economic Stimulus Act) injected $787 billion into the marketplace but to no avail. The economic malaise persisted because ill-equipped peoplemaking wrongheaded decisionswere in charge. Simply put Obamanomics conclusively demonstrated that Washington cannot tax borrow or spend the nation into prosperity.
Politically whats the definition of insanity? Electing the same types of people doing the same things but expecting a different outcome. (Hence perhaps the main reason Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 is neatly explained.) More to the point on an economic level whats the definition of insanityother than doubling-down on what has been done previously? Thanks to President Trump and the promise of Republican tax cuts the tidesuperficiallyhas started to turn. However a record-setting Wall Street is not the same thing as a booming Main Street. After all Wall Street is based upon the return on investment by stockholders. Thats rather far removed from real-life factors like an employees wages or opportunities to advance up the socioeconomic ladder. So the true test of a strong economy is an expanding upwardly mobile middle class. Yet this all-important demographic has been declining for more than 40 years:
After more than four decades of serving as the nations economic majority the American middle class is now matched in number read: statistically equivalent to by those in the economic tiers above and below it. In early 2015 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data."
For context in 1971 61 were in the middle class compared to only 50 in 2015. This disturbing trend depicts the downward spiral rotting the fundamentals of our economy from the inside out. What is it that we did better in those prior years that were not doing now? Back then did we not produce the best products (defined as meeting a customers needs)? In other words did American made products not dominate global marketsin terms of both quality and quantityand did that not naturally result in sustained economic prosperity for the majority of our society? As our middle class is clearly hollowed out thats not happening today. In our technological age the anecdotal evidence is literally in everyones face. Are the devices that populate your daily existence constructed by American hands or others? (On a related note how about the manufacturer of your vehicle?) After all that customers chose with their wallets is meaningful. Thus one can reasonably infer that a common sense reason exists as to why American businesses are not patronized as they were by past generations. Logically at its root is the reality that the consumers needs are no longer being met so they have looked elsewhere. Whats also apparent is that generally speaking American companies are being outcompeted by their international counterparts for the worlds largest market share. Their failure is based on a pervasively shortsighted mind-set: as a group U.S. businesss highest priority appears to be financial shell games designed to generate short-term profits on their quarterly balance sheets. This has the superficially positive effect of artificially buoying the stock price (benefiting executives salaries and stockholders investments) while inversely gutting the real-world ability of a company to compete in the global marketplace. If that is not the case why do American corporations widely participate in cost-slashing measures like corporate inversion using inferior components in U.S. products (read: bailed out GMs Ignition Switch Scandal) and outsourcing jobs?
Rather than vitally producing the best products (based upon ongoing technological innovation) many U.S. companies engage in modern-day parasitic behavior: absorbing weaker firms often stripping them of their employees and selling off divisions for quick infusions of cash to elevate the almighty" stock price. In popular culture this dynamic was immortalized by the contentious exchange between corporate raider Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) and embattled business owner Jim Morse (Ralph Bellamy) in Pretty Woman" (1990):
Morse: Mr. Lewis if you were to get controland I dont think you willbut if you did what do you plan to do with the company?"
Lewis: Break it up and sell off the pieces."
Morse: Im sure youll understand Im not thrilled at the idea of your turning years of my work into your garage sale."
Lewis: At the price Im paying for this stock Mr. Morse you are going to be a very rich man."
Morse: Im rich enough. I just want to head my shipyard."
Morsea makerrepresents the only viable direction by which America can rightfully regain her former glory as an economic superpower. By contrast Lewis is a taker. He doesnt create anything of value to society; he exploits capitalism simply to further enrich his moneyed class. As an analogy following Lewiss lead" is where so many U.S. corporations have gone wrong. In truth its impossible to continue manipulating the financials for short-term gainwhile also developing a long-term competitive edge. This is the requirement for businesses to thrive in the 21st centuryand beyond!
How does one achieve this illusive key to lasting success? For that answer one must look to Ronald Reagans Commission on Industrial Competitiveness circa 1985. Remarkably this forward-thinking president was troubled by the overt financialization of the U.S. economy and specifically its adverse impact on American competitiveness. In response Reagan launched a then secret project known as Project Socrates based upon the premise of technology-based planning (rather than the type of economic shenanigans mentioned above). Now known as the Quadrigy Automated Innovation Systemand led privately by Michael C. Sekoraits matured into a user-friendly graphic interface that maps global technological resources in real time. In function it operates rather like a chessboard showing U.S. companies and their foreign counterparts. In the unending quest for market dominance Quadrigy plots and tracks evolving technological innovation. For instance this system shows how monetary resources should be appropriately allotted and how technology can be most efficiently combined (developed) while simultaneously detailing up-to-the-moment strategies that block a competitor with an equivalent aim. Furthermore it operates in the vital time frame before a new product comes to market. Thats important because this feature eliminates the sudden emergence of so-called disruptive technology that currently catches flatfooted American corporations unaware.
How do we revitalize the American Dream as it was enjoyed by previous generations? Today that means running businesses as they were traditionally conceived: to serve society rather than exploit it. Therefore profit should not be the only goal but a natural consequence of dominating the 21st technological landscape. That means putting consumers needs and wants first by producing superior American made products. (To be frank that means not cutting fiscal corners in order to save pennies.) No other path will guarantee Making America Great Again." Lastly the time to make these fundamental shifts is perilously short. The countrys very survival as a First World power hangs precariously in the balance.
David L. Hunter is an Associate Editor at Capitol Hill Outsider and a Newsmax contributor. Hes on Twitter and blogs at davidlhunter.blogspot.com. He is published in The Washington Post The Washington Times FrontPage Mag and extensively in Patriot Post Canada Free Press and American Thinker.