Once Upon a Time in America...

Once upon a time in America...

...we made things. Things that were built to last decades if not centuries. Made of the finest materials and crafted with the finest tools by the finest workers here in the home of the Industrial Revolution.

...we traded these things to a world that clamored for our products. We had vast trading surpluses that fostered true national wealth. Wealth that made it possible for a middle-class, blue-collar worker to afford a home in a nice neighborhood while his wife had the option of staying home to raise a family.

..."globalization" was the U.S. rising tide lifting the world's boat through mutually-beneficial trade.

...Social Security was not yet a Ponzi scheme.

...we would have been ashamed to trade freedom for safety.

...a medical product made of $10 worth of parts wouldn't be billed to Medicare at $1,000 per unit. And it wouldn't have been paid.

...a gold standard kept inflation and debt in check.

...an unwritten, latent economic patriotism existed. CEOs knew they were entitled to profits and a higher standard of living than their workers because of their risk-taking and acumen but they were Americans before they were moguls and societal pressure would have kept jobs here.

...we wouldn't trade with countries that artificially suppress its currencies.

...there was no endless media blitz turning us into mindless consumers who need to keep up with the Joneses.

...politicians lied. Most of them, most of the time.

...government was small.

...the stock market was for professionals, amateurs and gamblers who knew the risk. But NOT pension funds who put employees retirement at wild risk.

Today in America...

...we don't make things. We push papers.

...we buy things. Shoddily-made things built to last a few months made of the worst pot metal, most often by near-slave labor in countries starting their own Industrial Revolution.

...we buy their stuff because we clamor for cheap goods because the middle-class can't afford anything else. We have vast national trade deficits that foster true debt. Debt that is suffocating the middle-class and forcing two-income families to take second and third jobs.

...we have a "service economy" squandering the wealth of the manufacturing basw built by prior generations.

...we have a "service economy" that only transfers what little wealth is left between people and institutions here at home. Countries that have true wealth from trading surpluses also have people willing and able to provide services. They don't necessarily need ours.

...we are dependent on others holding our Treasury instruments not pulling the plug and calling us on our debt.

..."globalization" means we give away our trading advantages and jobs.

...the Federal Reserve robs you blind through the printing press and inflation.

...heads of huge conglomerates act like modern-day P.T. Barnums, exploiting every advantage and sucker available in every way possible for maximum profits. They are profiteers before they are Americans.

...CEOs of certain Wall Street investment banks made as much in one year as approximately 2,000 EMTs or truck drivers. One group comforts your grandma when she's sick and needs immediate medical care. One delivers you the goods you need to survive while working in often dangerous conditions. Another gave you a worldwide derivative bubble in the hundreds of trillions and have brought the economy to the brink.

...government is expanding at about the same rate as the universe.

...politicians still lie. Almost all of them, almost all the time. Except Ron Paul, who is the only candidate who saw this whole thing coming before the Tea Party even existed.

Tomorrow in America...

...let's stop kicking the can down the road and fix this mess together. We have future generations to think about here.