How to Fix Our Economy

The Democrats and Republicans have been fighting for years over what is best for our economy. I have listened over and over to what is going on and have not understood why they miss the answers that are right in front of them. They are both right and both wrong, and spend their time and our money fighting. I am not an economist or a politician. I am a small businessman who has owned a business for 28 years. At this point in my life I am watching my business dwindle as the government fights. Let’s take a look at the issues they fight over and why.

Republicans seem to fight to keep business thriving including the ones they own. They want to keep them as competitive as possible with the foreign countries we do business with.  So they constantly push for lower taxes.  They say, “How will we compete with other countries when we are taxed so high and regulated so hard?"  So their cry is lower taxes and less regulation or our jobs and companies will go overseas. They want to give up whatever slows us down and dump social programs because they cost too much.

The Democrats on the other hand want to be noble and help everybody less fortunate and themselves along the way. They want to be compassionate on the unemployed, sick and poor.  Their answer is tax the rich because they can afford to pay.  After all the poor working class is what makes the corporations their money. They want the government to run everything. 

I say they are both right and both wrong. Yes we need more revenue to pay for programs to help our poor and yes we need to be competitive.  We need to produce our own goods and attract companies to the U.S.  For some reason they think this is a see saw.  It’s one or the other. But I say they are on two different seesaws.  These things are not opposites. We can do both at the same time. 

This is part of what I propose.  #1 First lets delete all (that’s right I said all) tax breaks.  They are each unfair to someone else.  Example: Why do I get a tax break for owning a house?  A renter has the same bills and responsibilities as an owner. He lives in the same county, state and country. Why does a family get a tax break because they can afford to buy new windows?  I’m sure everybody would if they could afford it. And those who can’t afford it probably have worse windows.  If you could afford to buy a new high gas mileage car or hybrid you get a tax break.  If you can’t you pay higher taxes and a higher fuel bill.  These things are discriminatory. They make no sense.  They rob our economy of needed money and promote class separation. This is America let us all pull together.  Together we are strong.  Fighting amongst ourselves we are a pitiful nation.

Well that part helps the Democrats point of view.  But doing these things upsets the apple cart on the republicans. Or so they think. Let us look at the perceived problems that this causes before they throw their hands up in the air and start ranting, or worse stop reading.

The problem is that without tax breaks we will not be competitive.  Our companies will jump ship and go overseas where costs are low and taxes are low.  No new business will think about coming to America.  Our companies will leave or dry up because of foreign goods that are cheaper.  America will not have the money it needs to pay its debt and go belly up.  But wait a second here.  What is the real problem? Is the problem cured by giving money to CEOs?  What happens when the companies get tax breaks?  Does the money go to workers?  Do they make more jobs? No! They protect profits (keep in mind that profits are not evil). So again why are we not competitive?  It’s the economies of third world countries.  They do not have regulations to protect their workers, requirements to pay for health care, unemployment and protect the environment. There is no such thing as OSHA.  The workers in other countries get squat for a days labor.  So where does that leave us?  I propose a rating system to evaluate each country we do business with.  We will compare pay rates and what American requirements cost us. This will be added to any product entering our country. This will put our products on a fair level floor with theirs.  Doing this will have a few effects.  Number one people will buy American products again if the prices are not higher than the imports. Companies won’t leave because there will be no profit in taking advantage of poor foreign workers.  More companies will be able to survive instead of cutting their own throats to try unsuccessfully to compete with these nations.  Our people will be back to work earning a living wage.  More taxes will be paid by our own working people.  And the import tax I am calling “The Balance tax” will be used to pay off our debt faster then you would think.

Yes products will cost more but we will make more.  We have for too long let our countries riches slip through the crack.  An hourglass only lets small amounts of sand pass at a time.  But eventually the top glass is empty. We are running out of time as the American way of life slips through that crack. 

I want our people working. I want a good living wage.  I want fair taxes paid by all without the corruption of tax breaks.  I want Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid funded.  I want us to drill for our own oil and refine it here.  I want no oil leases to be given for oil to be placed on the world market. I cringe every time I hear the words “World Economy”. It’s only a world economy if we want it to be.  And I feel it’s not the choice of the American people.  It is the choice of those companies who abandoned America.  They left for cheap labor and only want free trade so they can drain our riches from America.  And it is time to put an end to it.

You see we can have taxes paid fairly without tax breaks.  And it will strengthen our companies that are still here and attract more to come or come home. These two issues of providing for those less fortunate and protecting those who strive for a better life no matter how much they make, are not opposing views.

I remember a story (that I don’t know is fact) about how Honda wanted to sell their products here in America.  Their strategy was to sell Hondas here for what it cost them to make the cars. First it kept their company and economy running and employees employed. Second it allowed them to buy the products they needed in larger bulk and negotiate for lower cost. Third it made their product cheaper than ours so more could afford them and would buy them. Americans knew they were cheaply made and would not last. They rusted out faster then they wore out. But the product improved and the cost went up.  Now they are a large part of our country’s auto sales.  These things don’t just happen by accident. Other countries know what they must do to exploit the American people.  Free trade is having other countries dump goods here to destroy our industry.  Fair trade is what it takes to balance our economy against those who don’t have the same goals of worker rights, safety and other requirements that America has.

Another issue seems to be immigration.  The Democrats want to keep the illegal aliens in our country and give them amnesty.  We need workers for our fields to harvest crops.  We need a larger tax base in order to be able to pay Social Security, and other entitlements.  Our population is declining after the peak of the Baby Boomers. And the question of how to balance our population old and young hangs over our heads.

The republicans see it another way.  The illegal aliens put more of a burden on our country.  They drain the money out of hospitals and increase what we must pay for medical treatment.  They don’t all pay taxes.  They break the law just by being here and increase the crime rate.  When and if picked up here we pay large amounts of money to keep them in prison.  If we just return them to their country they are like the field mouse that you catch in your house.  Tossing it out the front door will not fix the problem.  It will just run around the house till it gets to where it came in the first time and guess what? It’s back.

Again they are both right.  We do need immigration.  It’s good for our country.  But we need control. The criminals walk across the border selling dope, killing and raping.  After all they live the life of a criminal because they are as soon as they cross the border.  Some come to have their child born here and be a citizen so they can stay as the parent.  This is abuse of our system.  How do we fix this problem?  First we enforce the existing laws.  Somehow we feel it’s wrong to profile and stop and ask for immigration papers. As a person who is pulled out of line every time I fly to be checked I understand this. So why don’t we make it evident.  Simple things imposed on everybody would help. A small pocket on a driver’s side window to slip your license into while you drive would show from 20’ who has a license and who does not.  There is no discrimination.  There is no profiling.  You have it or not.  If it is missing you get pulled over.  All illegal aliens should be finger printed and bussed across the border. A second offence will get you jail/labor time.  They will be worked in the fields wherever they are needed without pay. The money earned will pay for their incarceration.  Any money on your person will be used to pay for the return home.  As we know they usually carry their money on them hoping that if they will be caught, they can take it home with them.  Any company employing them will be fined big time for breaking the law.  The kind of money that will shut them down. 

On the other hand I always hear that they do the jobs Americans don’t want.  I am not sure that is true, but let’s assume it is.  Legal immigration works.  Our problem has been the vast numbers of people who abuse the system.  There is nothing wrong with worker visas. These will only be given to people who are not in the fingerprint data bank of those who broke our laws and came illegally before they were approved.

One more thing on immigration. Because our system has been so abused we need to change a law. The law that states that if you are born here you are automatically a citizen. Example: If I steel your car and give it to my son, it is not his car.  If and when caught it must be returned.  By this logic if you come here illegally and have a child, the child is not legal either. This will end the chain. Some come here illegally and deliver a baby in our country because then they have grounds for legal immigration status. They should not be rewarded for breaking the law.

This will give us plenty of workers that are legal and obey our laws. As a worker here legally the taxes will be paid, the healthcare will be provided and the hospital bills will be paid.  Healthcare costs should come down or at least not rise as fast. And those who came here to exploit our country will be deprived of their reward for deception.  Those considering breaking our law will find that if they do, they have no chance to be here legally. No chance at obtaining a job and a large chance of working for free to pay their fines.

America has gone down a slippery slope that needs to be addressed. I understand that there are people starving that need help.  America has always been a land of people who want to help those in bad shape.  In recent years I have seen regular Americans give money for places like Haiti when it is needed. I think this is a choice of each individual to decide what they can, and are willing to give.  There are organizations ready to put that money to work all over the world.  But our country has taken that choice away from the people. The government has decided to fund arms, food and general aid without the approval of the people. This is wrong! Give the power back to the people.  They are smart enough to know whom they want to give money to.

A worse problem is the money we pay to countries so they don’t fight each other.  This is a losing battle. First of all it is not a permanent solution. They only sit and wait for the allotted time to expire while building up their arms with our money.  In the end we pay more and more as the money seems to count less and less. It brings to mind the, “Don’t feed the bears” type sign. If you feed them they will become more aggressive in looking for people food. They will be demanding to be fed and going on a rampage when the demand is not met. They should be finding and eating their own food.  Example: Why do we pay Egypt to not attack Israel?   Egypt has enough resources and does not need our money to keep them from fighting Israel. This is extortion and needs to stop. 

While we are on the subject of armies. Why are we still the army for Germany? This is long enough already. Are they paying the cost for our men to be there? If we are to keep this up we need to be paid 50% more then it cost us to be there. Their economy is not in bad shape.  After all they have no military.  What % of our economy goes to the military? And what do they pay?  We need to bring our men home from places like Germany and Japan.  Yes we can have a maintenance crew to take care of the bases in case we need to use them.  But tell me how many men are in Germany? These are the men that should be patrolling our border for national security purposes. After all at this point anybody can just walk across and they do.

Fighting amongst ourselves improves nothing. Gains nothing and loses everything. Let us work together as Americans to better our country.