Made in the US of A

For nearly 30 years, American jobs have been shifted overseas. This includes textiles, appliances, electronics, etc. With US tariffs at an all-time low, imported goods have been relatively cheap. Big business could move jobs overseas, where the labor is cheaper, and import them back. Many Americans haven't complained because they continued to get cheap goods. The overlooked result has been fewer well-paying jobs for the middle class.

Manufacturing offers some of the best-paying jobs in the country. These jobs also affect others that are part of the chain--distributors, transportation, suppliers, etc. When you lose a manufacturer, you lose more than just a local plant.

I've linked the title head to this article to a website called Made in USA; please check it out. They post this on their sidebar:

"There are 293 million people living in the United States. If each one would shift $20 a month in spending from foreign made products to American made products, that would create 5 million new jobs."

What sets this site apart from others is you can do a Search and find American companies based on a Flag system--one flag means the item was manufactured in the US, 2 flags means the content of the product was manufactured in the US, and 3 flags means the company is incorporated in the US. Often they'll include a website or phone number so you can order online or request a catalog.

Video, audio and news links are also posted at in the library.

A series on You Tube talks about the decline of America's economy and some of its causes, from immigrants (legal and illegal) to outsourcing, over-regulation (perhasp mis-regulation is a better term), etc. While we can dispute some of the causes, the end result has been a loss of at least 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000.


Go to You Tube for the rest of the segments.

Holiday Bunk

No, this isn't about a bunk bed; this is about debunking all the end-of-year bogus claims circulating through the Internet and elsewhere. Go to factcheck.org for more details; they're also adding to the list daily in a spot they're calling "Ask Factcheck". Here are a few "urban myths" they've reported:

• It's not true that unionized auto workers at Detroit's Big Three make more than $70 an hour, as claimed by some opponents of federal aid.
  
  
• And no, 3 million workers won't be tossed out of work if aid is not forthcoming, as claimed by those favoring a taxpayer bailout.
  
  
• President-elect Obama never promised to seek a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, as claimed by some fearful gun owners.
  
  
• And no, Obama did not propose a Gestapo-like civilian security force as claimed by a Republican member of Congress from Georgia and any number of overwrought bloggers.
  
  
• Democrats in Congress are not discussing any plan to confiscate the assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, another falsehood spread about by chain e-mails and Internet postings.
  
  
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not demand a 757-size personal jet, a false claim resurrected when Democrats criticized Big Three executives for flying to D.C. on their own private jets to beg for aid.
  
  
• And Pelosi's husband doesn't own a $17 million stake in a food company that she may (or may not) have tried to help with an exemption from a new minimum wage law.

As the folks at Annenberg note, what is sad is the number of Americans who believe this misinformation. They have an interesting post-election poll that includes percentages on how many of the electorate believed the falsehoods they were hearing. The authors of this article (Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Brooks Jackson) point out the reasons why voters believe these lies:

1. political ads run many times on the air (if you hear it enough you start to believe it)
2. we have a basic need to "embrace our side's arguments and reject or ignore those offered by an opponent"
3. Partisan preconceptions (Democrats raise taxes; Republicans cut Social Security)
4. Voters aren't knowledgeable about government
5. People find it hard to change once they've formed an opinion

Keep checking back. I'm sure the new year will bring many more tidbits of misinformation.

Visions of Sugar Plums

While the country is embroiled in economic issues, from Wall Street to Main Street, the Bush Administration is diligently working behind the scenes to pass new regulations before their time is up. My title head includes a link to Propublica.org, a site I just found that lists and updates all the Midnight Regulations as they come out. It should come as little surprise that these last-minute regulations cater to Big Business and affect everything from the food you eat, the environment, even to more police surveillance. So, as you ponder those sugar plums and mulled wine, check the list--check it twice, see who's naughty....

Crooks in Government

For Illinoisans, it came as little surprise that the Gov. Blagojevich (pron. "bla-goy-ya-vich") was arrested for trying to sell Obama's vacant Congressional seat. The surprise was how stupid he was, knowing he's been under suspicion for corruption for years, to have been so blatant. And this man came into office right after Ryan, who went to jail for corruption. Unfortunately, they waited to arrest Ryan until he was out of office.

Blagojevich could still appoint Obama's senate replacement, though state lawmakers are calling for special elections to do this. IMHO, Blagojevich should step down & lets run special elections. Now, who will run?

At the same time, we have the FCC Chairman has abused his power. And don't forget Bush's abuse of power, the Pentagon abuse of power....They all seem to be doing it. I wonder if this is a membership club or just politics as usual?

Corruption is not a recent thing or just an Illinoisan thing. It's not just a Democratic thing either. Examples:

Connecticut Gov. John Rowland was threatened with the worst corruption in the state's history.
Louisiana's last 3 insurance commissioners were sent to prison.`1
Republican Bill Frist, a doctor, resigned from the Senate pending investigation into charges of "insider trading."
Sen. Ted Stevens (Rep. Alaska) was convicted on 7 counts of falsifying official Senate reports
The most corrupt state in the US is Mississippi (IL comes in #5).
Teapot Dome oil leasing corruption of 1922
Over 21 people were indicted for corruption in San Francisco in 1909.
Credit Mobilier corruption in 1872 involving Mass. reps. 2
The Whiskey Ring scandal where Dept. of Treasury officials were bribed. 3

You don't have to look hard to find corruption. We just need more Patrick Fitzgeralds to take care of 'em.


Sources:
1. Public Corruption in the United States, National Press Club, Jan. 16, 2004
2. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h234.html
3. Ibid

An economic recovery plan

This week's Obama-Chat to the nation includes economic proposals to pull out of this depression. Some features:

1. Make government buildings more energy efficient
2. Invest in national infrastructure
3. Modernize school buildings
4. Improve Internet access for all
5. Improve & modernize healthcare

This assumes a creation of over 2 million jobs, especially important since the nation just lost 1/2 million! The above items all seem to me, IMHO, to be good ones because:

1. It creates jobs in this country
2. An improved infrastructure results in better transportation, cost reductions, etc.
3. Our schools are where we teach the future workers of America
4. The use of the Internet is key to education and access to world views
5. Healthcare costs are a main reason for companies locating outside the US
6. Reducing our energy needs allows us to spend money in other, more crucial, areas

I also don't think this is enough, but it's a start. After all, he's not in office yet.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth More in the Bush

Not content with two Bushes in political office, the reigning Republican political dynasty is once again pushing favorite son, Jeb, back in the spotlight with a bid to replace Sen. Mel Martinez in FL (click blog header to read Miami Herald article). Could this be the first step to something bigger? Like a bid for yet another Bush in the White House? Well, with a name like Jeb, how can you go wrong in the South? And, since a couple southern states carried the tide for Obama, don't be surprised if the GOP is targetting to bring them back into the fold.

Early Warning Systems

According to many sources (blog title linked to msnbc), banking industry lobbyists protested regulatory changes that would have helped prevent the current financial crisis. And, the Bush Administration ignored all the warnings. Sound familiar? Think about the other ignored warnings in this administration:

• Sept. 11--they ignored CIA & FBI alarms going off all over the place
• Iraq--no WMD's, no Al-Kaida and we'd walk into a mess
• Mine Safety--mine safety suggestions were ignored (in fact, standards were reduced) and more miners died in cave ins
• Hurricane Katrina--the levees could not withstand a 4 or 5 cat storm
• Climate Change--the administration not only ignores all scientific studies (including from the Pentagon), but declares CO2 is not a harmful pollutant
• Torture--senior military lawyers dissented with the administration's conclusion that the President could order harsh interrogations
• Security firms in Iraq--the administration ignored repeated warnings about using private security frims
• Border Fences--the administration ignores warnings about the environmental impact of the border fence with Mexico
• Pakistani drone attacks--the American intelligence community warned it would benefit the Taliban & destabilize the Pakistani army

When it disregards experts & career professionals, the Bush Administration responds with denial. They attack dissension, instead of learning from it.

The White House has issued a list of times (17) where they allege to have urged Congress to do something about the banking industry. Several right-leaning blogs are using it to blame the Democrats, failing to point out that Congress was Republican-controlled until just over a year ago (and have kept threatening to filibuster since). I wonder what other warnings have been ignored.