Well Ross Perot had it right 20 years ago. He said if we signed the "free trade" agreements we would hear a giant sucking sound. First with Mexico, then China. We might could have absorbed the Mexican drain because they only have about 125 million people. But with 1.2 billion Chinese, we can't compete. With no environmental laws, no child labor laws, no social security laws in effect, our labor can't compete, even without being union. So we have gone from about 20% manufacturing jobs to about 10% in the last 20 years. This is both parties fault, both, not one. Both wanted this. Idea was to get lower costs goods, so the poor and middle class could move up by paying less for goods. Free trade is fine with Japan, Germany, or another industrialised nations with similar laws, but with a third world nation, it doesn't make sense. If we had those 10% of industrial jobs back, this would eliminate the unemployment problem by reducing it to about 5%. It would also solve a big portion of the medical insurance problem, because factory workers had health insurance provided. It would solve the government's tax revenue problem without raising taxes, because workers pay income tax, and American production pays corporate income tax. Yes, the Tea party did bring to the nations attention of excessive Federal spending. We don't need more taxes right now, we need more jobs. Government tried to solve the factory drain by allowing more home building by loosening the strings of home loans with ARM's and no down payments causing high employment yet ending with a housing bubble with millions of unsold homes, and people walking away from their mortgages.
How do we solve it:
Get America back to work by:
1)First we need energy, lighten up on red tap by allowing drilling in the US everywhere.
Streamline approval process for new nuclear power plants.
Get the transmission infrastructure in place to transmit wind energy from the plains states east and west of the plains.
Switch fleet vehicles to natural gas.
Switch more private vehicles to diesel.
Invest in synthetic diesel from coal.
Get practical banking regulations in place.
2) Cut the Federal budget especially with what isn't cost effective or doesn't put Americans to work.
Cut Obamacare, too complicated, too expensive, increases those covered with no new doctors, thus causing medical shortages and long lines and waits.
Cut all foreign aid.
Bring American troops home and close European bases.
Make manditory drug testing, both initial and random for anyone receiving government aid like welfare, WIC, unemployment benefits, etc. Can't pass drug test, can't get aid, just like jobs.
Cut out frivilous research like how long a gay man's (censored word) is.
3) Close the border with Mexico.
Put troops brought home on the border.
Build the wall and fences.
Punish employers who knowingly hire illegals with stiff fines.
This will keep illegals out and send home most because they can't find a job.
Also, no citizenship for children born of illegals in the US.
No school, no free medical care for illegals. No freebies.
I don't mind legal immigrants, but illegals may be drug dealers or have some type disease or carry bed bugs, lice, etc.
4) Put in place a 1% national sales tax except for groceries and medical expenses. Cut corporate tax for every new full time employee hired by a corporation. There are lots of part time workers in stores because they do not have to provide health care or benefits to these workers. Sales tax would have to be paid by corporations for all their purchases like utilities, raw materials, tools, chairs, desks, etc. Have a tax depreciation allowance for businesses of 100% over a period of 5-10 years, for any American made product they purchase. Foreign made would not get the tax depreciation allowance.
By doing these simple things, we would put more full time workers to work with health care benefits. More taxes would come into the government at a lower rate. Factories would come home, imported fuel and goods would decrease solving our money drain in the trade deficits.
I like to TEA Party's basic tenants, but they fall short of the overall fix.... Permanent full time jobs with health care benefits. Common sense environmental approach. Don't have rules and regulations and mountains of paperwork on how something is to be done. Just let the companies figure out the easiest and best ways of doing things and fine them if they screw up and make them clean it up. Mountains of paperwork for something proposed holds up work, construction, and jobs. As jobs come back and more people get health insurance, new doctors and medical facilities will come on line. Dumping 85 million new patients on the health care system we have in 2014 will be stupid.
