| Raising the standard of living of the poor cannot be done without reducing the ridiculously high standards of the very wealthy to make room for a wider middle class. |
During the 90s, the rich got richer, the middle class got richer, and the poor got richer. We were entering the "global economy" and with agreements such as NAFTA, many manufacturing jobs went outside our contry, but there were other opportunities for those who wanted to better themselves. Hi-tech jobs were being created at a rate far greater than than they could be filled. Because of the economic laws of supply and demand, salaries skyrocketed for tech jobs.
Then, in 2001, the economy fizzled. There were signs that it was weakening in 2000, but the job market collapsed in mid-2001. Bush was "talking down" our economy, and that led to drop in confidence and may have contributed to the extent that it collapsed. The outsourcing of high paying jobs overseas made things worse and Bush has done nothing to try to stop it. He has actually done things to encourage it. Corporate profits are all that matter to the Bush administration.
When manufacturing jobs were being outsourced to other countries during the 90s, there were more and better opportunities in hi-tech jobs. Now that many of those jobs have gone overseas, for many, there aren't better opportunities. Middle class wages have dropped during the Bush administration. The republicans lavish themselves in praise over creating new jobs, but many of those jobs are in the service industry or in health care. While the Bush administration is generous with it's subsidies and tax breaks to oil companies at a time when they're reporting record profits, nothing is being done to reward companies that create jobs here. Companies actually get a tax break for sending jobs overseas.
U.S. auto makers are saying they must move their operations overseas in an effort to reduce costs, namely wages, health care and retirement benefits, in order to be able to compete in the global economy.
The reason people aren't buying American autos is quality. American auto manufacturers are concerned more with pleasing the shareholders than producing cars that can go longer than six months without requiring a trip to the repair shop. That business strategy may have worked in the short term years ago, but people have gotten fed up with the garbage that rolls out of Detroit (figuratively speaking). They've realized that although the initial purchase price of a Ford or Chevy is less than a Honda or Toyota, repair costs, lower resale value, and aggravation make them more expensive in the long run.
To the U.S. auto maker, all that really matters is profit, and that is why demand is down, as are profits. To Japanese companies such as Honda, they've built their reputation on quality and they continue to maintain their reputation by producing high quality products, year after year. And it's not just their top of the line. Even their entry level vehicles such as the Civic consistently receive top marks when it comes to reliability, and that is why people buy them.
While it's true that if what they are striving for is to be able to produce garbage cheaper, U.S. auto manufacturers may very well be able to achieve that goal by moving their operations overseas, and they might be able to compete with Hyundai or Kia, but it's pretty sad that U.S. manufactures aren't interested in competing at a higher level.
The loss of good manufacturing jobs and hi-tech jobs makes it difficult for the poor to break out of poverty. The middle class is filling the decent jobs that are available. Student financial aid has been cut under the Bush administration and with the higher cost of living, it is much more difficult for the poor to get a college education now than it was in the 90s.
So what should be done to help people better themselves? The government should increase financial aid for low income students, reward companies that create jobs here, and penalize companies that send jobs overseas. Of course, the Bush administration doesn't want to do things that are actually good for the poor and middle class, so that will never happen while he is still president or we have a republican dominated congress.
