The picture of American business presented to us by the Republicans is of a bunch of investors and job creators, money in hand, poised on the edge of expansion and job creation but held back and frustrated by the over-regulation and anti-business attitudes of big government Democrats.
So, is this a true picture? Wouldn't it be nice if it was true? Or even half-true? Then all we would have to do is throw out the Democrats and, with the ascension of the Republicans to total power - in the Presidency, the Senate, and the House - we would suddenly be inundated by such a demand for workers that we couldn't even hope to fulfill it. Wow, what a vision of the future!
But, too good to be true? Well, as they say of most scams, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Did you ever read any of those business magazines? You know, like Fortune? They have the Fortune 500, a ranking of the 100 richest individuals - features like that.
One of the first things you notice when you read business magazines is that they don't share the negative attitudes of most Americans toward out-sourcing. There's no finger pointing, as in "Was Romney in charge of out-sourcing at Bain Capital?" In fact, the attitude toward out-sourcing in a recent issue of Fortune was downright celebratory. There were eight pages devoted to out-sourcing, including a ranking of the 20 best out-sourcing advising corporations, a ranking of the 100 top out-sourcing leaders, and a listing of 100 rising-stars of out-sourcing.
So, why are all these wonderful American corporations lining up to ship overseas the jobs of so many wonderful Americans? Is it money? Do you suppose it has something to do with money?
If you guessed money, you're right. American workers are paid a lot more than workers in China, for example, where a lot of American jobs are being shipped. For every dollar our American worker earns, a Chinese worker earns three cents. That's right, three pennies.
People used to talk about the race to the bottom. Remember that? This is what they meant. That's what's going on. That's where the jobs are going.
So, what will happen in terms of job growth if we give Republicans total power? Nothing.
What will happen is the same thing that happened the last time the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, and the presidency. There will be net job loss, the rich will get big tax cuts, the rest of us will get another big bill for unregulated Wall Street excesses, Social Security will be privatized, and Medicare will be eliminated. And, maybe a war or two.
L. P. McGovern
Williamstown
