Are Foreign Jobs So Dear and Foreign Cars So Sweet?

Are foreign jobs so dear and foreign cars so sweet as to be subsidized by our state government at the price of our own American companies as they are pushed to the precipice of bankruptcy and beyond?

The United States is in open competition with the same countries from which we buy our goods and finance our government. These countries supply our consumption while simultaneously competing fiercely against our companies in international markets. Nations like India, Japan and China, along with trade blocs like the European Union, rail against “protectionism” in the U.S. because they do not want to have their unfettered access to our market tampered with.

The United States is told that it must oblige to its commitment to “free trade,” not because it is in our best interest but because it is in our foreign creditors best interest. They want the current system to continue unimpeded. Foreign exporters finance our government so the U.S. can continue functioning, and then they make all of their money back through the goods we buy from them. The U.S. government then pays back its finance charges and over time foreign financiers virtually double their investments. The United States is told that it must keep up its end of the “free trade” bargain. Meanwhile other countries skirt the rules, using hostile practices to put our companies out of business and capture sectors of the market.

Other countries limit and restrict the amount of American-made goods flowing into their markets. The United States puts up no such regulations, and is thus flooded with foreign-made goods. The WTO, NAFTA, and other “free trade” agreements favor the producers in this equation, and the United States is not one of them. We are told by these international trade regimes that we cannot and should not protect our own economy. The U.S. must instead open itself up to all foreign interests.

Our government has eroded its own regulations regarding capital infusions, mergers and acquisitions, and foreign-takeovers. To make matters worse, all successful American companies are for sale on an open stock market. As a result the United States has lost thousands of companies to foreign takeovers in the past 30 years, and stands to lose even more as the economic crisis deepens. The same cannot be said of other countries, where takeovers are closely regulated and major industrial champions rarely – if ever – get purchased by an interest overseas.

It is inevitable our foreign competitors have economically conquered us. Our fate is sealed. Most Americans do not realize the gravity of the situation because so much of the media attention is directed in favor of the “free trade” system which has bankrupted us. Scholars, politicians, professionals, and others from all walks of life have been indoctrinated into the idea that “free trade” is the best and only way to do business. Our political leaders believe in the whimsical idea, and those that do not preach the fallacies of “free trade” are bought and paid for by major corporate interests and foreign lobbies.

With this arrangement we are inexorably heading into the 21st century American colony at full speed. Our experiment with economic freedom, one which has gone on since 1776, is doomed at this rate. It was great while it lasted.

As a conquered nation we have no ability to resist this economic and political pressure. Our factories are shuttered and our industries are unproductive. This country imports consumer goods which could otherwise be made at home. It exports its wealth, strength, and prestige in exchange.

With no internal capabilities and no strength, we are happy that our colonial masters even give us a job. There are thousands of foreign-owned, American-registered companies in the United States. Many of the automobile factories which presently supply our car market are foreign-owned. Our state, local, and federal governments continue to offer tax breaks and subsidies to these foreign companies in exchange for a few American jobs even after this practice drove our own automakers to the point of dissolution.

In the near future we may find our living standard diminished and our prospects for growth and economic independence dampened. Without any homegrown industries to drive a comeback we will be forced to be content with our diminishing status. While living in the lap of luxury we allowed the greatest economy on earth to fall apart by living on imports and foreign-financed debt. The “me first” mentality which drove this country has pushed us into a crisis from which we will not return.

Click here to see a list of the 16,613 companies sold from July of 1978 to 2008.

Click Here to Learn More About the World Trade Organization

Click Here to Learn More About the North American Free Trade Agreement