Monthly Archives: May 2019

Why America Is Great (Randyjw; May 8, 2019)

Ducking beneath an overhang to avoid rain, I found myself sitting next to two people engaged in a conversation in which one of them stated that he saves only a little money, and the rest of it he sends back to his country. I was a little concerned about this guy, as he seemed to have taken two “location shots” of a not-so-special place, and then seemed to proceed to aim his phone, somewhat surreptitiously, toward me. I told him, twice, “Don’t take my picture,” but I think he did. I did not get a good feeling from it – – and it seemed more like a bad reconaissance mission, as opposed to a friendly gesture. Without saying what I’m saying, I’m saying it, anyways… Hopefully, it’s just hyper-awareness in this situation and doesn’t portend ill-purpose on his part.

Anyways, it set me thinking about immigration, other countries, and the U.S.

I have nothing against immigrants. I understand that people want to share in our “dream” of freedom, democracy, and prosperity. If only some family members from foreign countries settle here, it tears their family apart, and that can be difficult. When an immigrant finds work, and sends most of their wage earnings home, these remittances help raise the living standards for their family, since the dollar tends to be the strongest currency against which other countries peg their own currency. The value is so much higher, that the dollar has so much more purchasing power.

But, there are other factors to consider, as well. What if there are so many emigrants doing this, that half the country are receiving this income, but the other half are not? Maybe it will lead to the artificial inflation of the cost of goods, based on what the given market will bear: such items such as housing, cars, and the like, eventually, and effectively, pricing the poor half of the population right out of the market and even deeper into dire poverty.

Maybe there’s a point of too-quick growth, where booms in various industries lead to a top-heavy shift of workers toward these growth areas, while leading to the paucity of other industries and the workers required to learn and perform still needed functions and vocations. The lure of foreign countries whose workers will earn less, due to the stronger dollar at home, helps to also cause the business-investor’s exodus.

I think that’s why President Trump is bringing back manufacturing to our shores, and really understands the full benefits of doing so. While we, here, in the U.S., still stand to retain our competitive technological, military, and business edge, it also helps to raise the standards of living for so many in the rest of the world.

How? It might help to galvanize the populations of other countries to confront the reasons why their present system isn’t working and to find the means to make it work. Perchance a popular movement will gain traction, using the ideals of the U.S. success as a role model. It’s already beginning to happen in Saudi Arabia, with nepotism and cronyism in the awarding of cushy jobs to the royal sons now losing favor and industry opening up to the general population. Other mid-East countries, not in the midst of long-term internal or external war, are also feverishly developing their infrastructure and, hence, furthering their economies. That’s better diversification for them, as oil, gas, and alternate energy resources are now also found in better concentration beyond just the middle East. Word being bandied about by the Palestinians is heading in this area, also.

When the U.S. was great, the world’s countries rose, as well. At least, those which were based on a democratic-capitalist system. Where the U.S. started to fail is in the brawn-drain exodus of our manufacturing jobs and the brain-drain exodus in the tech sector. Accelerated immigration growth led to a demand to accommodate a bilingual work-force, to tap, not only foreign markets, but now the internal language shift of the U.S. This has forced a change in the population of both the workforce and those forced out of once plentiful jobs formerly requiring only a monolingual language. The country from the exodus continues its decline as workers leave for greener pastures, and this causes more instability around the world.

I think that the world can rise with America’s rise, rather than by bringing it down. It’s just something to seriously think about.

See Also (Updated June 20, 2019):

Stossel, John. “Moral Capitalism”. linbertynewsnow.com; June 20, 2019:

(https://libertynewsnow.com/moralcapitalism/article16884)