This has been a problem for a long time now. China manipulating their currency to cost Americans manufacturing jobs and cause a huge trade deficit for our country. It also drives down wages as greedy corporations take advantage of the virtual slave labor pool that exists among the oppressed people in Communist China. Of course, with so many "leaders" in our Congress like the Senator for Communist China Mitch McConnell it is no surprise nothing has been done. Now, July 13 is National call in day to tell Congress to end Chinese currency manipulation.
Ah, Independence Day is upon us once again. However, for many Americans this year may not be much of one for celebrating. Millions of Americans have seen a tough couple of years and no light seems to appear at the end of the tunnel. With the current state of job losses, debt, bailouts for Wall St., and a continuing scorn for working America one begins to wonder just what in the hell we really think we are free from.
Besides the millions of gallons of crude leaking into the Gulf of Mexico the continued deregulation of industry in general and in particular the oil and gas industry has caused much death and misery. The continued quest of profits over people has determined that to pinch pennies some workers are just plain expendable to fatcat Corporate CEOs. Along with lower wages, shrinking benefits and an uncaring attitude by management this has been a big part of the war on the American worker waged relentlessly by Corporate America with their enablers in both political parties. However, thankfully the sorry record these folks have compiled as they basically regulate themselves has not amused everyone in Washington. Today Patty Murray (D-WA) blasted the industry on the sorry record they have compiled.
The hypocrisy of the Republican Party is astounding. When in control of our government they took a surplus and turned it into a huge deficit. They allowed the worst attack ever on American soil and stole generations of Constitutional protections while starting two expensive and ongoing wars to hide their own incompetence. Their policies of spend, and spend, and then give out a little Corporate welfare all while outsourcing middle-class jobs was a failure, all while crashing the American economy in the ditch.
In my closely neighboring town of Mayfield, Kentucky for years they had a tire plant that produced quality products and middle-class jobs. I knew many in my hometown of Paducah who worked there, and lost their jobs when the plant closed in 2007. Now, as the whole building comes crashing down, Mayfield gets a sobering reminder of what Corporate greed has cost them. The "Rock of Labor" will remind generations of how Mayfield used to have a tire plant that was closed due to the outsourcing of their jobs.
Here at Hillbilly Report we always call Mitch McConnell the "Senator for Communist China". That is because he is more interested in representing the interests of an oppressive Communist government so that greedy, heartless businesses in America can exploit the virtual slave labor of the oppressed Chinese people. Even Chinese children are not excluded from the oppression of slaving for little or no compensation as American jobs are outsourced to the Chinese to avoid paying American workers wages they deserve.
In this diary from earlier in the week I detailed how Whirlpool is a profitable company that has taken millions of dollars in federal money, but yet has still decided that American workers are too fat and sassy to enjoy those profits with. Hence, they are closing their plant just over the river from my state of Kentucky in Evansville, Indiana putting 1100 middle-class, hardworking Americans on the unemployment line. Now, Central Indiana Jobs with Justice needs our help.
Across the Ohio River from Kentucky in Indiana is the city of Evansville. For years, American workers have made quality appliances at the Whirlpool factory there. Now, Whirlpool has decided to close this factory down and put 1100 more Americans out of work. It it even more outrageous the circumstances under which they plan to do so.
There are many reasons being floated about for the loss of Ted Kennedy's seat. While the media will spin it how they want it as a lifelong Democrat I know what has happened. Our leadership has become almost as beholden to special interests and Corporate money as Republicans and it has made our party just as despised as the Republicans.
One thing that has been lost in the shuffle through decades of free trade zealously is the simple fact that it matters where things are made. With the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs and the closures of hundreds of thousands of factories the ability of our country to innovate and to make the products we consume has been greatly diminished. This in turn has shrunken our middle-class to disasterous levels.
We have been detailing at some length of the diminishing opportunities faces the young in this country. Not only the diary just linked, but an earlier one here. Now, as if young Americans needed it even more disturbing news is coming out about how the policies of the last several decades, some supported by both parties are killing opportunity for young workers and threatening to make them the first "Lost Generation" in our history who actually will make less and be worse off than their parents or grandparents.
It appears Sarah Palin is trying to shore up her foreign policy credentials for a possible run in 2012. After dodging ethics complaints by resigning and becoming a facebook fixture, Caribou Barbie appeared in Hong Kong to speak to investors about governance and economics among many things. I guess she is ready to lay a foundation to outsource the rest of our middle-class jobs to China in case something horrible happens, like her being elected President.
One thing that most Americans have always agreed on is that they hope their children will have more opportunities and will not have to work as hard as they did. For many generations of Americans they could rest assured that this would happen and each new generation found more opportunity and built more wealth than the one before. However, starting in the 80s with the disaster of "Reaganomics" and culminating in the George W. Bush years, young and middle-aged folks of these generations are almost assured of ending that trend. New reports are showing that they are losing wealth at an alarming rate and their wages and incomes have dropped dramatically.
With the outsourcing of our middle-class jobs to virtual slave markets to take advantage of oppressed people, one of the consequences has been that we have taken advantage of child labor to produce profits as well. While this practice sadly will never be completely ended, our country should make a concerted effort to end the importation of goods that exploit children in their production. According to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, this practice is still all too commmon.
One of the key components to the American Dream has always been that one generation wants their children to be more secure than they were. For many generations this pattern seemed to play out nicely as the middle-class was created and thrived. However, Corporate control of our elected officials and government has reversed that trend. With outsourcing, and other cost-cutting measures young workers today face huge challenges and very well may see their their own future security be less than their parents.
With American everywhere struggling in our stagnate economy President Obama has come up with a long overdue idea of raising revenue. Sure to create a firestorm in the business community, the President is seeking to end some tax loopholes for businesses that sheild their profits offshore. This plan could wreap huge dividends in the next decade.
You would think that after recieving almost $200 billion from the American taxpayer that Bank of America would simply love Americans. However, it now appears that Bank of America should change it's name to Bank of India and come begging and groveling to the people of that country for a bailout. That is because after recieving hundreds of billions of American taxpayer dollars, Bank of America has decided to create jobs- in India.
Mitch McConnell was re-elected last year despite the attempts of Kentucky Progressives. We apolegize to the rest of the Enlightened world. However, one country we need not apolegize to is Communist China. Yes, it seems when Kentucky lost an election, the Chi-coms gained a valuble Shadow Senator who just sits in Kentucky's seat and represents all the wonderful things that Communism in China stands for.
