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To touch back on the economy...
We can all agree that our economy is based on consumer spending, correct? In fact, our economy is 2/3rd's consumer spending. So, therefore, if we continue on this pace of outsourcing and replacing tech and manufacturing jobs with "service industry" jobs, we are going to have a much weaker consumer class. That would, by deduction, lead to a weaker overall economy.
When they factor in the level of increase in productivity they are actually including jobs in countries where we have outsourced jobs. Indian and Pakistan, for example. It's an untenable situation if we are going to leave a great void for all the jobs we are losing. Unless we innovate and find a replacement for those jobs in some "New" sector. As we did when we lost computer manufacturing jobs and replaced them with software jobs. Now we are even losing those to outsourcing.
These are scary times for the middle-class. I would advocate NDD's solution to ensure that jobs stay in America by tying those large tax incentives given to corporations are tied to keeping jobs in America for Americans. How much in taxes do many of these corporations that are outsourcing actually pay? And the argument that "they employ lots of people who DO pay taxes" is dwindling, because those jobs are being off-shore. Instead of providing a benefit, many corporations simply have a corporate office with a skeleton crew and do all of their work off-shore and the prices they charged for the same products made by Americans remain the same as when they employ foreign labor. The only difference? The profit margin of the corporatation.
Pure capitalism is a terrifying thing to many people. Pure capitalism is basically survival of the fittest. That is why we instituted so many social programmes to help those who could not survive in a capitalistic society. Public Works programs, Social Medicine for those who really need it, Food programs, education and job training... We have struck a very fair balance between capitalism and socialism for many decades. We try to only reign in corporations for very egregious violations, and yet provide some protection for the average citizen. To scrap that system, which has made us the most prosperous nation on Earth would be, in my opinion, a great mistake.
It's time to make corporations more accountible. If they want tax incentives, then they need to agree to maintain some percentage of their jobs on these shores. Without that guarantee, what incentive is there for the American taxpayer to subsidize their business in the form of tax incentives?
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