The Prodigal Blogger Returns!

I'm back! For the past year I've been working. You know, a 'real' job, in the field of my choice. I've gone from being the sympathetic unemployed counselor to being a greatly loathed supervisor. (How'd *that* happen?!) But as we all know, it's a job . . . a paycheck . . . I've been in worse places. I have two more cats and I no longer play Farkle. Instead of looking for ways to live on the dirt-cheap, I look for ways to conserve my time.

There has been an impetus for my return. I recently learned that some of my former co-workers are being laid off. I know them to be intelligent, dedicated, compassionate people who considered their jobs to be their life-missions. I'm sad, not only for the workers but also for the children they helped.

It's a sign of the times. We've gone from the Cold War of the 80's to a state of political and economic resignation of the new millennium. If we so detest communism, why are we giving China our jobs? Why are we buying products from China and investing in firms that support Her? The US economy could come back, but it won't because the politicians and corporations refuse to hear our message. They want us to view it as a new form of colonization - a kinder, gentler, corporate maneuver that's win-win. They even have several economists on their side, because based on the old system, if the corporations win, we all get a piece of the pie.

It *is* win-win . . . the corporations win, and China wins.

But they aren't the only players, and the losses aren't being discussed in their rhetoric. That piece of the pie that corporations used to share with the rest of us is now being shared with China and a few other developing nations. This is a new system. It hasn't been adequately studied, and it's not the economic system studied by the old-school economists. There are additional variables.

The previous trade system was give-or-take, self-contained. In a nutshell, we all bought from the same group of people we sold to. China is playing a different game. Their country rules all entities, corporations included. A Chinese corporation is like a Chinese citizen in that it also follows certain rules and regulations. For this reason, China has kept their currency artificially low. By doing so, they've managed to undercut other aspects of the market.

What I'm saying is that the 'free market' is no longer free.

China as a country has been pulling strings. The US Citizens suffer in that we lose our jobs. We suffer in that we get cheaply made and sometimes unsafe products. We suffer in that with the flailing job market, tax revenues are much lower and the government is left gasping for air.

Our social services are becoming underfunded.

Our military is becoming underfunded.

Our government is laying off employees . . . and before you begin to cheer over an end to 'big government,' ask yourselves where the private corporations are hiring?

Boat to China, anyone?

Any undergrad student of international relations knows that there are a few paradigms by which to examine world affairs. One, of course is to consider the political and military rapport.

Another is to view things according to all the influences and participating entities. For example, a corporation can make a move, as can the Pope, as can a terrorist organization. The US has two superior allies - the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, both of which have buffered us from attacks over the years. Any of these can affect the standings of one region over another.

The third paradigm, which my professor viewed as most accurate, was to see things in terms of history. How, over time, various countries have interactions with one another and things evolve. He viewed this and felt the US was responsible for the world's ails.

I looked at the time reference and combined it with the multi-entitied paradigm instead, and decided that a lot of people did a lot of things wrong over history.

When I apply that perspective to today's events, what I see is that the US pushed for China to colonize us.

Do I need to repeat that? WE pushed for THEM to colonize US.

If I sell you a raw product - say it's timber - and you work on it a bit and sell me back a table, your table costs more than my timber does. You've just made money. This is exactly how Europe and the US made money a few hundred years ago. We made a mad grab for coffee beans! "Give us the beans, and we'll give you money," we told the Africans and Central/South Americans. "Nevermind what you'll DO with it, now that your land is being used for coffee beans instead of the native food-crops. We're not giving you food, we're giving you money. Without good food, your children are malnourished and disease-stricken, but we'll justify that by calling you stupid and filthy. Good thing you're not asking for much money. Great cup of coffee, btw! Too bad you can't afford any."

The reason the industrialize era was such a profitable time for the US is because we were making lots of things to sell! When we take our manufacturing jobs and send them elsewhere, we lose money. Not just the job-holder. The whole region.

Someone's going to tell me that I'm a profit of doom, and they might just be right, but the problem is that I've been saying this stuff for over ten years. And I'm right, too.

There are two paths to take. 1) Do nothing. Eventually everybody in the world will be middle class, and they can all afford to buy everything that's being sold. This, of course, assumes that the market is perfectly free, and we've established that it isn't.

2) Do something. (!!!) This is my favorite. Ok, I have nothing at all against Chinese people. Those I've met have been exceptionally kind, and they deserve to be healthy and well and to live middle-class lives like the rest of us. But since it's not a free economy, I genuinely doubt this will ever occur. :-( What does the Chinese government need the money for? The people generally don't see that money. Are they planning to give out aid to places in need? More . . . weapons?

Why are we all just standing around?