While many politicians blame the lack of jobs on the federal budget deficit, it is actually America’s trade deficit that is the root of our problems. The U.S. is still millions of jobs behind where it was when the Great Recession started, and now has less people employed than in 2001. The economy has been unable to create jobs due to America’s massive trade deficit caused by failed economic policy.
Years of unfair trade and poor policy have torn apart the manufacturing base that once made the American economy strong. However, America was not always a slave to these disastrous free trade ideals.
A look at the official government numbers shows that the United States has been making very slow but steady progress toward recovery after the economic downturn we experienced late in the last decade. Digging a little deeper into the figures shows a more dire portrait of our economy. It turns out that structural problems in our economy are keeping us from recovering at all. In past crises, Americans could spend their way out of recession, but structural problems now keep us from doing so.
New sources of clean energy will be a crucial part of the world economy in coming years. By 2013, the global renewable energy market is forecast to have a value of $511.3 billion, and with traditional sources of energy becoming increasingly expensive, the value of that market can only be expected to increase.
Many corporations refer to themselves as American companies, but that statement does not mean what it used to. Most of our largest corporations are now multinational, with little loyalty to their home country. With unemployment holding steady at unacceptably high levels, adding jobs is more important than ever. Unfortunately the largest corporations seem to be investing in jobs overseas while leaving the American labor force behind. With job-killing free trade agreements in place, there is little incentive to do otherwise.
Trade Reform The Economic Collapse Blog
