Exposing A Fallacy

You don't have to be a rocket scientist or even a logical thinker to understand a terrible fallacy. Almost everything Americans buy, such as autos; electronics, clothing and many other items are manufactured in foreign lands. Even American cars are partially manufactured in Mexico. Americans are so involved in consuming, that the United States has been over-buying from the world since before the 1970s. The U.S. passed from positive to negative in exchange to the world in 1977, which placed the U.S. on the short side. The annual loss has been over $600 billion and gets larger almost every year. This loss represents a big difference between what Americans buy as against what we sell to the world.

Here is the fallacy. If Americans are buying more than selling, how can the country as a whole enjoy a large growth rate in the economy, which was recently stated at 3.5 % per year? To enjoy any kind of growth must come from those who sell foreign products. They are enjoying increases in the numbers of items sold, $600+ billion with profits increasing. Technically, that is growth in the nation's economy. On the distaff side, the United States can't be increasing its manufacturing to achieve such a large growth, for the numbers show that the U.S. manufacturing is too small a part of the whole economy and it is shrinking yearly.

Realizing this, the fallacy expands; although the economy is increasing, the United States is not adding to its capital base. In other words, we are not manufacturing items, building factories nor doing anything to create jobs for our children or our grandchildren. Yes, our progeny can become sales or service people, but they will sell to whom? The other question is, where are those people doing all the buying today getting their money? It must be from sales and services!

What everyone agrees to is that Americans are leaving their grandchildren with an ever-growing national debt, which has an ever-growing interest obligation.

What a national failure!

Then there is Orwell's other statement, "Freedom is Slavery." Big Brother goes around telling all of us what a free country we live in, and emphasizing our presumed desires to bring freedom to the rest of the world. Free by getting the Congress to enact the most repressive laws under the umbrella of increased security. Free to have had the Attorney General enforce laws that didn't exist, or stop plea bargaining. Yes, Americans are even free to support and rebuild Iraq, while we have nothing to show for it ourselves - not even additional jobs. Little known, again our ignorance, we are spending money buying mercenaries from small countries as additional soldiers to just stand around in Iraq. Look at the freedom we brought to peaceful Afghanistan and now to "peaceful" Iraq. And we, the peace-loving people brought such happiness to Somalia, Panama, Serbia and Kosovo. (Those are only the big military operations in recent years.) We are such peace loving people that if we had been warlike, what would the world be today? How do or will most other counties refrain from finding excuses to attack other countries with all of our supposedly justifiable excuses for starting wars?

Let us all hope that there is some higher force to protect Americans, our progeny and the rest of the world, not as much from Big Brother, but from our ignorance.