Trading Our Future

Does anybody else find it strange that we just lowered the corporate tax rate the first quarter of 2018, but also got hit with twenty-five percent tariffs from our friends across the sea?  At least that tax money stayed here rather than floating into the pockets of the red army.  Of course the details are yet to be finalized on all this but the original intent of tariffs was a governments attempt to keep their domestic productivity competitive.  Not such a bad idea, but in this case they are being used in retaliations that should be prosecuted and settled in the world courts.  This tariff spite could put millions of American business owners and employees out of work.  A hard price to pay that is more damaging than taxes and tariffs.

Which brings up another point; our society and economy was and still is in large part the envy of the world.  The far-east and middle-eastern countries have done nothing more than use American capitalism to build their own stock in the world market.  Kudo’s to them, but let’s not forget where the ideals of free enterprise and entrepreneurship flourished allowing our very own works to be used against us.  The problem with capitalism in the world market is that for many countries the government is the primary business owner.  For example, all of the major steel producing companies in China are owned by the government.  Free enterprise is not free when controlled by elite oligarchs that can control their labor costs at the sake of the workers.  Entrepreneurship cannot thrive in an oppressive environment.  If you are competing with a government that controls your purse strings and licensing you’re likely to fail before you even start. 

Our country was built in many ways by union contracting.  In the Great Society the increased wages to union labor would raise taxes to take care of the less fortunate.  Unfortunately union wages made it easy for foreign competition to undercut American production.  In addition the definition of “less fortunate” began to expand and created a whole new class of American…the welfare class. 

Higher wages with benefits and subsides to the “less fortunate” may be a good economic strategy to sustain a confined commonwealth but in the world market it’s a recipe for exploitation.  Coupled with the fact we are a consumer driven economy, all we are doing is feeding foreign competitors & investors our hard earned pay.

This country has the ability to be a successful republic socially and economically.  We can produce the goods needed to sustain our quality of life.  But to do it we have to return to the ideals that made us strong to begin with; the ideals of learning a trade, of becoming a craftsman and putting in a hard day’s work that brings a feeling of pride and accomplishment.  With training in the basic trades and crafts being cut from many public schools, our children have lost one more way to find their passions.  What can’t be taught at home used to be taught in schools.  We are developing generations of Americans skilled at memorizing answers to tests, instead of being tested on the basic skills of life.  If not for the immigrant and working permit class of this country we would struggle to provide for our quality of life.  This is a sad state to be in especially considering the rising population of the welfare class. 

I have a friend who learned his skills from his dad.  His dad was a jack of all trades and many of these traits rubbed off on my friend.  He is often asked how he knows so much about such a wide variety of trades.  His answer is always the same….”as a child and young adult I had the choice of staying in the house and being whipped by my alcoholic mother, or be outside helping my dad around the property…I choose to be outside.”  Today he holds two different jobs and does numerous things on the side to make ends meet and occupy his time.  This is a classic case of choice, the choice to live in a suppressed environment or living to explore opportunity and create a better reality.

The work ethic and skill level in this country is still strong.  But it has been degraded and replaced over the years and we are seeing the effects of it today.  I fear in coming years we will suffer even more from our own lack of ethics and skill if we don’t do something about it now.  We have cut school budgets today at the expense of our future.  We have developed an attitude in many ways that pits parents against teachers for the failures of their children.  It is hard for a teacher to instill ethics and skills on a student when those ideals are not taught at home and reinforced within their peer structure.  This is why there is an increase in private schools as our public schools suffer at the hands of politics and budget crunching.  Meanwhile, many of our youth go through their school years without seeing the life advantages of being a skilled craftsman.  We need to instill the thought that no matter where you go or what you are faced with you can always fall back on your trade to sustain your quality of life.  As the immigrant class takes the place of the American working class we are becoming merchandisers instead of mechanics, cashiers instead of carpenters and loungers instead of laborers.  Well sooner or later the vault will be empty and we’ll find we are overly dependent on foreign help to maintain our country, another way our own policies and actions are being used against us.

I am a skilled tradesman.  My trade is in security alarm and monitoring systems among other things.  I can go to any city in America and most likely find a job in that industry if I chose.  However, I am trying to develop a craft as well that I hope can sustain or enhance my current lifestyle.  I like options and I like being able to diversify.  And that is another problem I see with the younger generation coming into the world today.  Many feel their options are limited and they get stuck in a path that leaves little room for variance.  Frustration sets in as they get older they are not satisfied and want to change, but their options are limited, their resolve is weak, they are scared to take a chance and risk what they have.  In the end they will grow old and miserable thinking about what might have been.  Do not trade your dreams of the future for a cozy today.  Just as our country has traded short term gain at the expense of future rewards, we as a people must look to tomorrow when making tough decisions.  I am looking to my tomorrows as an opportunity for change.  But I am not risking everything; I’m building on what I have.  That is what our country needs to do…cherish our past, strengthen our present and build for the future, which we can’t do if we are not competitive, diversified, challenged, moral and positive.

Our world is drastically different than it was a hundred years ago.  Politics has become a way to line your pockets instead of serving your country.  Some of the current laws and procedures established by our government serve no one, but the politicians, and that is at the core of what our founding fathers wanted to prevent…a self serving government.  We must all realize that in this land “We the People” is the cornerstone of our foundation and those elected represent us, not dictate to us. 

I wonder how big corporations feel now, sure they got a tax break, but they will also have to pay more for raw materials or be priced out of the market all together due to foreign tariffs while our own government collects at their expense.  A last gasp effort by our government to help businesses & salvage parts of our production and economy sacrificed years ago for profits at the sake of our economic future. 

Let’s get it back America, it’s never too late to realize your mistakes, make corrections and build towards a brighter tomorrow. 🐝 🇺🇸✨✝️🕊️

2nd Thessalonians Chapter 3,  Psalm 117.