Your Distressed Property and Short Sale Expert in Maryland
The movie "Company Men" ponders this idea, as way too many Americans are unaware of our massive losses of manufacturing jobs to other countries.
Many Americans realize this and wonder - how can we survive if we do not make anything, but only consume goods made somewhere else?
A new book, "Make it in America", by Andrew Liveris, incidentially the CEO of Dow Chemical, and a native of Australia, makes the case that with businees government and labor working together we can prevent the loss of manufacturing - especially high tech manufacturing.
It has been easy for corporations to make their products elsewhere - none of the concerns of having their own blue-collar employees, and let low paid labor make the products on contract, while the corporations raked in the profits. However research and development is now following these plants to other countries - companies have found that innovation in products requires an understanding of the manufacturing process.
This means we are letting other countries steal our economic future with subsidies in specific areas and massive spending on infrastructure, education and workforce training.
Are we going to realize that we are giving our economic future away with policies that we promote, but others do not follow?
Or are we going to play by the rules that other countries are using?
That is the Question - thanks Hamlet!
Should we follow the example of China? - an unfree country that may one day go through a disruptive governmental change? Perhaps not.
Germany, a free and stable country might be the best template to examine. Most do not know that Germany, a country of only about 80 million, is the first or second largest world manufaturer. Through the co-operation of labor and manufacturers, with government approval, these mid-sized, and mostly family owned German firms lowered unit costs. The workers agreed to work longer hours for less pay with less restrictive rules. The executives agreed to smaller salaries and less focus on short term profits in exchange for investing in their long term futures. The government passed modest tax cuts and reformed labor laws.
Actually, a number of American firms have done this too - consider GM, Chrysler, Ford, and the Steel Industry. Although some were forced by government, and others by competition, the results have been good. We need to change our internal dialogue and business culture to one of national competativeness and some short term loss for long term gain. Can America do it?
Now the Federal Government is beginning a manufacturing initiative the will begin to work on these issues, and provide many Americans with badly needed jobs that create something you can touch. Already, way too many Americans have lost their jobs, dignity, and homes (to foreclosure and short sales), that may never be recovered.
Let's hope...
Dennis
Keeping People From Experiencing Foreclosure
www.MarylandDistressedProperties.com
www.Frederick-MontgomeryCountyHomes.com
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