The truth is they don't need us anymore.

[flamin lib]

When Henry Ford began building cars his fellow industrialists chastised him for over-paying his employees. Ford replied that he wanted everybody to able to buy his cars, even the workers who made them, hence the pay scale.

Flash forward to the twenty-first century. Engineering is outsourced to India, Manufacturing to China and the fastest growing markets are Asia and South America.

Why do they need us?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

[KurtNYC]

1. we are still the consumers

that's all, hence the debt and exhaustion of credit

[Lizzie Poppet]

6. Not for much longer.

As you say, we've just about hit the limit of our ability to continue to consume on credit. Our ability to consume without credit dried up long ago (unless you're in that happy top quintile). Soon enough, we will neither consume nor manufacture consumer goods (or perform consumer services, save in our own collapsing service market) They really don't need us any more...and it shows.

But by the same token, we don't need them any more, either. Why continue to provide them the equivalent of an offshore tax shelter right here within our own borders?

[Demeter]

2. The truth is We Never Needed Them

and they are proving that daily.

The role of corporations was tightly restricted by the original Constitution, but by buying and lying, the Corporate Drones, or the Rich managed to short circuit all the protections, so they could get even richer by robbing the workers and the nation.

Now they are the Obscenely Wealthy, and they are a plague that must be stopped.

[Scuba]

4. +1

[Speck Tater]

3. Isn't it about time for us to make our own economy without them?

Somehow they have convinced us that we MUST participate in THEIR economy. It's not necessarily so. Although I'm not exactly sure what the alternatives are I know there are small societies around the world that are doing just fine without the greater world economy. Before the fall of the Soviet Union people mostly got the things they needed by local barter, not by reliance on the outside economy. It can be done, if people were really interested in exploring how to make it work.

[RevStPatrick]

5. Here's a good place to start...

http://brooklyntorch.org/

Local currencies.
Not that this particular project is at all successful, but it's something to think about.

[aquart]

7. Try to keep up. China wages are up. Companies are coming home

Or looking for cheaper places.

When you say "Why do they need us?" You need to consider that they don't need useless American and European CEOs, either. They have the factories and the technology.

[OHdem10]

8. Our Free Traders Policies(or Lack of Oversight and Managment) of

our Trade Policies have come home to roost.

They Need Us Desperately--that is why European Union
is about to fall back into recession. (Of course going
into Austerity in a direct plunge pushed them further
and faster toward recession.

OH, how they need us. WE WERE THE MAIN MARKET for all
their products. Now half of our people cannot buy their
goods.

Two Terrible decisions were made in the 80s. That we
the USA would become a Service Economy. Finacial Systems
Retail and Tourism would be our jobs. Which dummies ever
thought that our country being so large could be sustained
by a Service Economy is beyond me. Dummies exist. The
Policy failed.

No large nation cannot sustain itself without making things
and selling them. Basic. If we get into a war with China
can you imagine---Our ordering our bullets and fighting
equipment from the country we are fighting????

We use Trade in Foreign Policy. You know--Help be our
ally on this cause and you can sell your stuff in our
Country. No thought wo what this is doing to our manufacturers.

No management no controls. We threw our gates open and let
every Tom Dick and Harry bring their stuff in. No or very
few constraints on them. Very few requirements from them.
The other countries subsidize the companies and therefore
the workers in their country. This gives the other countries
the edge to entice companies to go there.

The Republicans love to cry Patriotism. Where is the Patriotism
in turning our country into a Third World Country.

At the root of this is Corporate Power. Too many Congressmen/Women
must vote as Business dictates. (Campaign Contributions and Lobbyest)
What is good for Business is not always good for America.
Businesses have it good. They can go to other countries
get cheap labor which means huge profits for the Business
but in so doing they have gutted our country. Business
has only responsibility to their shareholders, not this
country nor the workers in this country.

All of these practices have become law starting with Reagan
and here we are.

Now THE WORLD NEEDS US TO BUY ALL THEIR STUFF and hald
the country is out of work.

Until we learn to organize and manage our Trade Policy
we limp along toward Banana Republic Status.

[moondust]

9. Why do we need them?

What if the U.S. outlawed corporations and stock markets and converted to a self-sufficient economy?

[jwirr]

10. You may be right about the corporations and the rich not needing

us since they can buy and sell what they make globally. So then the question is do we (the people of the USA) need them? Once we were pretty much self-sufficient making most of what we needed in our own country. If we could somehow get the local economies we talk about back up and running maybe we could be that way again without their idiocy.

The problem with that of course is that it calls for drastic lifestyle changes and giving up a lot of the "luxury" side of our present lifestyle.

Unfortunately I do not think most Americans are willing to do any of this.