The Solution to America's Economic Depression

Ron English, "Money is the Root of All Art", 1994

Make It In America To Sell It In America

By Marc J. Rauch
Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher
THE AUTO CHANNEL

Originally published August 5, 2011...But equally true today

So, Debbie and I were watching CNN this morning and they presented a panel of three nitwits to make suggestions how to get America out of the financial depression* we’re in. Needless to say, the semi-comedian and the other two had no clue. But then, you have to remember that most of the on-camera people at CNN (and FOX and MSNBC) have no idea of what they’re talking about. They’re given an assignment to fill 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with “TV noise.” To do that doesn’t require quality of thought and information, so that’s what they deliver: content with very little, if any, useful information.

Anyway, one of the ideas that the three monkeys discussed was that the FCC is talking about creating a national call-center program to bring call-center jobs back to America (from India or Bangladesh or where ever we call to find out how to get our debit card pin numbers changed).

First of all, the FCC is perhaps the biggest single group of nincompoops in the entire government system. These are people (current and past employees) who have screwed up almost every aspect of broadcasting and communication. Their board members are generally people who don’t work in media or broadcasting, so they come into the positions with no real understanding of the problems that need to be addressed. To now task them with developing ideas on how to create jobs is just laughable. Second, call-center jobs are not what we need. We need jobs and industry that manufactures products that are built by legal American citizens that are then sold and serviced by legal American citizens.

Building an American call-center industry that fixes problems concerning foreign made products is a pimple on a pimple of the economic problem. It is a joke. It’s typical FCC stupidity.

Alright, so here’s what has to be done:

If a car maker wants to sell cars in America, then they have to make the car in America, with American parts.

If a General Electric (for example) wants to sell appliances in America, they have to make the appliances in America.

If Sony (for example) wants to sell televisions in America, they have to make them in America.

If an energy company wants to sell fuel in America, then the fuel must be made in America from an American-based resource. If we don’t have a sufficient supply of petroleum oil to fill our need for engine or heating fuel, great, we shouldn’t be using petroleum oil anyway. Our fuels should all be domestic biofuels or domestic CNG.

Incidentally, I define America as the 50 U.S. States and territories. It does not include Canada or Mexico. If a car maker wants to sell cars in Canada or Mexico, and those countries don’t want to import cars that are made here, then they should be made in Canada or Mexico, but our concern can not be for their economic prosperity, it must be for ours.

If, by insisting that all bigger ticket items are made in America that it lessens the selection of brands or styles, so what, we don’t need to select from an endless number of un-profitable options, just a reasonable amount of purchasing options. And if, for example, a buyer of a vehicle is not happy with a particular color or trim level or performance capability that is available as a stock item, then the buyer would be able to have the vehicle customized to their pleasure by an American-based aftermarket provider.

To those who worry about the potential of escalating retail prices for goods manufactured here, I point to the great job that is being done by Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, Nissan, BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla, and Mercedes to build high quality, market-acceptable priced vehicles right here in America. It can be done.

If call-centers can then be located here, fine. However, if we’re going to lose any jobs I say let those dead-end jobs stay where they are, as they are irrelevant to the big picture.

Celebrating the idea of an out-of-work American riding around on a bicycle with an advertisement on it for a local business as a solution to lack of jobs (as CNN did this morning), is nitwit reporting. Turning America into a nation of coolies is unconscionable. Unfortunately it is the best that CNN can do. We just have to be careful not to make the “best that CNN can suggest” the best that America can do.

* We are in a full blown depression. Calling this a recession is just trying to hide how bad the situation really is. In fact, this is THE GREATEST DEPRESSION.