Hampton Branch Library
The Problem Is Big Government
RECEIVED Tue., Nov. 2, 2004
Dear Editor,
Michael Ventura's belief that America's best days are behind it may be true but not for the reasons he stated ["Letters @ 3am," Oct. 29]. I believe that expansion of the federal government outside its constitutional box and the creation of a dependency class, both individuals and business, through the federal welfare state is the cause. Our balkanization (diversity) by those who make a career of dividing us up into supposedly victimized groups contributes to our decline.
Alexander Tyler stated that a democracy only lasts until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. Then the decline starts.
But our decline is not economic. The U.S. is the engine that pulls the world's economic train. The loss of manufacturing jobs is evidence of a shifting economy much like the massive loss of agricultural jobs was the mark of our transition to an industrial economy. We are now transitioning to a technology-based economy.
From 1995 to 2002 the world lost more than 20 million jobs in the manufacturing sector. These lost jobs were not outsourced to Mars but ceased to exist. Industrial output increased by about 30% during this time period. Increased automation/technology means you need fewer people to run a steel mill or put cars together.
The loss of these jobs was not limited to the U.S. Michael Ventura's alleged economic power China lost 15%, Japan lost 16%, and Brazil 20%. The U.S. lost 11% of its manufacturing jobs during this time frame. Most manufacturing nations lost an average of 7%. It is politically more expedient to blame outsourcing than to confront the need to adapt to changing economics. Unions spend enormous amounts of money on politicians trying to keep buggy whip and slide rule manufacturing jobs instead of training their members and their children for 21st-century jobs.
Michael Ventura's belief that America's best days are behind it may be true but not for the reasons he stated ["Letters @ 3am," Oct. 29]. I believe that expansion of the federal government outside its constitutional box and the creation of a dependency class, both individuals and business, through the federal welfare state is the cause. Our balkanization (diversity) by those who make a career of dividing us up into supposedly victimized groups contributes to our decline.
Alexander Tyler stated that a democracy only lasts until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. Then the decline starts.
But our decline is not economic. The U.S. is the engine that pulls the world's economic train. The loss of manufacturing jobs is evidence of a shifting economy much like the massive loss of agricultural jobs was the mark of our transition to an industrial economy. We are now transitioning to a technology-based economy.
From 1995 to 2002 the world lost more than 20 million jobs in the manufacturing sector. These lost jobs were not outsourced to Mars but ceased to exist. Industrial output increased by about 30% during this time period. Increased automation/technology means you need fewer people to run a steel mill or put cars together.
The loss of these jobs was not limited to the U.S. Michael Ventura's alleged economic power China lost 15%, Japan lost 16%, and Brazil 20%. The U.S. lost 11% of its manufacturing jobs during this time frame. Most manufacturing nations lost an average of 7%. It is politically more expedient to blame outsourcing than to confront the need to adapt to changing economics. Unions spend enormous amounts of money on politicians trying to keep buggy whip and slide rule manufacturing jobs instead of training their members and their children for 21st-century jobs.
Carl A. Anderson