I am wondering why America isn't producing like it used to do? Don't get me wrong, we do have some assemblying jobs going strong, but we aren't producing professional people anymore like we once did. Somebody tell me what we have to do to get back to being the industrial giant we once were.

I'm not sure that's the path we need to look at. Industrial is so last century, lol. We are stumbling right now in finding out what the next economic base is going to be. First it was agrarian, then industrial, then computer tech and innovation, then information, next will be energy. But we have an entrenched oil/industrial base with alot of money and access to power and policy.

If we are to meet the demands of a future of technology that grows exponentially, we must have the best educational system in the world. Best equipped, best funded, best staffed, effective and as close to free as possible. We no longer hold that edge over the rest of the world. We need to be the innovators again. I don't care who makes the crap or where, as long as each time one is sold, someone in the US is getting the royalties for it. Let the world pay us for our genius, our ideas, our technology. Work smarter, not harder. That is the only way we could sustain a service industry sub-based economy. Continuous conspicuous consumption fueled by the fruits of innovation.

There is, for the first time, a competent global challenge to the US in the areas of innovation and research. The US must return to it's preeminence of invention and discovery.

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S.O.S. ------ United We Stand, Divided We Fall

You speak of an entrenched oil/industrial base that has all the connections and power. That is why we will never be able to properly research alternitive fuel sources.

Only a strong grass roots movement will force our leaders to do so. We must start producing products that the world wants. Our education system is not effective and must change to meet the challenges the world market is producing.

America can't have an industrial sector unless their productivity outweighs the low wages of indo-china, or drop their wages. The former is impractical and the latter unattainable. America should take competitive advantage and stick to what they're good at, whatever that is...

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KK,
Just curious as to why you are interested in a site dealing with American politics? Oh and what is GB good at? In your opinion of course

lower the value of our currancy

Well said!!!

Intellectual property and entrepreneurism are our best traits.


All countries go through the same phase: 1. Agriculture 2. Industrial 3. Service. To keep gorwing we have to make sure our quality is high and we have to move into other markets. That is why we're pushing for free trade through the WTO, to ensure a level playing field by all. For those that complain jobs are being outsourced oversees, just keep in mind that we need someone to buy our services. The higher the purchasing power of developing countries the more likely they will buy our products and services. The more products and service everyone buys, the more money and jobs we have. Just like eventually countries like China will begin to outsource jobs to places like Africa and S. America when they enter into a service economy in the future.

You got that right.

Okham got it wrong. This isnt a progression of economy at all- we still have very real and very present necessities that can only be met with agrarian, industrial, technical and other kinds of output. We are just passing the buck, letting others handle those kinds of jobs, regarding them as inferior. This is where illegal immigration and outsourcing come in. If we move in the same direction as we are, aiming for the pinnacles of innovation, who will do the other jobs? Who will work at the assembly lines, pick the fruit, haul the construction work?

Will these "mean" jobs be given to uneducated low-income foreigners or society's dropouts and motivation-starved deadbeats? Wont this just create a caste system?

To rid ourselves of this will be a tremendous problem and it might as well turn out to be America's downfall if left unchecked.

What led to the first period of America's explosion and growth was a set of general societal values. Without that our youngsters will continue their parasitic, victim-mentality, hedonistic development, becoming perpetual consumers while the role of money-making, success-securing producers will go to others outside the US.

And the moment we run out of money to pay for our ravenous consumption, we will be turned aside and thrown away.

This is a product of a political, social and moral mishandling of America, brought on by our overprotective yet paradoxically laissez-faire lifestyle.

All I can about that is that we aren't producing much to export unless you consider that we could provide food for the world, if the goverment would get out of the farming business.

Actually we export quite a bit, especially since the value of the dollar has been lower than in the past. we export a lot of technology such as telecommunications, financial services, supply chain management, and especially entertainment. I think the areas we're hurting in are areas that weren't able to adapt to a more flexible business model. This is the case with Ford and GM, their rediculous compensation packages and lack of flexibkle production has left them out to dry even though they're the 2 buggest automakers in the world. We saw this also with the steel industry. The older large producers cried for help against Chinese competition while the smaller more flexible producers claimed thier counterparts should be more efficient. A steel company in my are clsoed a few years ago, I remeber a local news report claiming salaries for workers with more than 5 years of service we're making $60-80k a year. I think for us to produce more the g-ment needs to let the market run its course and quit protecting businesses that can't adapt to the change of the market (i.e. Airline industry).

I love economics