English 1102
September 29, 2013
The downward spiraling of America’s economy
I feel left in a dust clouded whirlwind wondering what happened to America. Why are so many people out of work these days? It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You get a degree, get a good job, land a promotion or two or three… and well… live happily ever after. Not the case at all. America has been ripped apart at the seams for too long and is seriously going to unravel. Tons of Americans live in what some people are calling “hellhole towns and cities.” Why? There are simply no jobs for Americans to employ their hard work, and talents. What is the cause of such massive unemployment that is bringing down the economy and the American way of life? In a word globalization, or rather, how the nation’s leaders of the world are propelling this reality of globalization. Globalization is the ever reaching and interconnection of the world’s nations, economies and, well, just about everything else in the world. Economic globalization is the focus here though. Globalization has had a negative impact on jobs, which in turn is crippling to our economy and brings down the wealth of our country. But what can Americans do if we don’t even know what is happening to our country and our jobs, or why we are in such a bad state of stagnation. The globalizing economy has allowed for the incorporation of U.S. and foreign economies. Many of the foreign countries in which our economies have become entangled allow “slave wages” Sanchez 2 to be paid. Big business loves big profit no matter what the cost. If a big company can pay someone oversees $.50 per hour, what incentive do big companies have to stay and pay American workers $10 or $15 per hour? There is no reason except for maybe to preserve the jobs of American workers, which in turn would improve the country. But the profits are too great, so they continue to move their business where cheap labor is available. There went someone’s job and it’s probably not coming back. We end up importing more goods from foreign countries than we buy from our own country. Michael Snyder, a well-known author and attorney, said it well in his article, when he wrote “American workers have enjoyed all of the cheap products that have come flooding into our shores, but our Politian’s never told them that globalism would also mean that they would soon be directly competing for jobs with workers on the other side of the globe that are willing to work for 5 or 10 percent as much” (Snyder). Mr. Snyder asserts that many companies have also left because of the tax relief of doing business in other countries. This means they don't pay as much taxes overseas as they do in America (Snyder). This is known as a “tax haven”. This can only mean more profit for them. See a pattern here? Profit is of utmost importance for large corporations. They get to keep more money as we watch our jobs vanishing before our eyes. Executives that represent their companies may tell a different story. Their story talks about how they “cannot afford” to pay Americans fair wages, because of their responsibility to the shareholders, so they have no choice but to take advantage of “slave labor” in other countries. They leave out the part about keeping their pocket happy and full of profits. Sanchez 3 Other countries have taken over industries that America pioneered, take for instance, the car manufacturing industry. We were once not only the leader but the pioneers of this industry. Many
Americans were employed by companies who manufacture cars here in the towns of America. Now other countries are becoming the leaders in the car industry, the industry we invented! According to an article on NBC News by Charles B Stockdale and Douglas A. Mcintyre, China now leads America in this industry because of the high cost of labor in America (Stockdale, Mcintyre). They don’t want to provide employment for Americans, but they do