Can't all work in an intellectual white collar corporate world.
Somebody has to do the work. Somebody has to produce.
That somebody should be Americans! Job creation is the key to prosperity!
Prosperity of the nation not just a few individuals and over paid CEO's.
There's heaps of truth in that Jimmy, though "jobs" doesn't solve the economic problems the US faces. Certain "jobs" are the significant culprit of our $128 TRILLION of unfunded liability. Don't take me for a "white collar intellectual". I'm a working stiff like others. I just don't limit my perception and focus my aggression towards entrepreneurs and investors. After all, everyone in this country has that opportunity if they are willing to take the risk.
You're right Mark, a service economy is what the Chinese have. Millions of lowly paid minions standing at an assembly line sticking plastic parts together. These "jobs" that Americans whine about going abroad but are not interested in doing as they are "beneath" American worker dignity. Oddly ironic isn't it?
Other startling factors is the transformation that technology has had on traditional brick and mortar shops. E-commerce has put nearly every merchant on their heels. Store rents increase, store traffic/revenue diminishes, prices escalate. Buyers go elsewhere to buy cheaper goods delivered through the mail. And of course, entry level workers want $15/hour. Easy enough, pay fewer people to work longer and reduce your staff. Or, raise your prices and lose customers. Or replace humans with kiosks. Ah! The panacea. Except, now what about the displaced employee?
Its a job
lost to technical and cultural evolution not a foreign country. What then is the answer to that riddle? Outlaw kiosks? Pay line cooks at fast food joints $30/hour to flip a burger and stuff fries into a cardboard box? There will not be sufficient taxable income to fund the government that is so overly bloated already.
All of these are symptoms of our economy, not the cause. The debt held is what drives the credit game. Credit is a death spiral, and our country is in it so deep we will NEVER escape it. All because we want to "provide more" equalizing services and goods to all citizens than be good stewards of our responsibilities.
Subprime lending is a perfect example of "good intention, terrible results". Credit extended to those who hadn't earned it, forcing a market bubble in real estate that inflated housing pricing for those same folks couldn't qualify for a loan, that they then got a loan with no equity to buy a house they couldn't afford. Priceless. What on earth could go wrong?
Sorry, but you can't blame over-paid CEOs, foreign countries or wealthy 10%-ers for the
terrible choices individuals make. Folks in these circumstances brought it upon themselves out of a lust for lucre, or pure ignorance. If you don't understand math, then you should not be signing loan documents. Credit ratings are inherently opposed to financial responsibility. They are rigged to get citizens to take lines of credit they can't afford, so banks can "close" those accounts, write them off, and be reimbursed by tax payer dollars. Banks win when you choke on your debt. And too many Americans never stop to think about the consequences of their financial dealings.