What seems to be overlooked is that once the trade barriers were knocked down and imports began arriving in this country that had comparative quality to US manufactured goods and products at a much greater savings to the consumer, corporations had to move jobs overseas to remain competitive and survive... It seems to me that when I was a kid there were a lot of brand name electronics and appliances that were manufactured in this country that simply went out of business or were forced their manufacturing overseas in order to survive... Whatever happened to RCA, Phillips, Magnavox and the others who were the leaders in household electronics? They either adapted or they simply went out of business. Going out of business was not a management decision, rather it was a decision that was made at cash registers all across American as American consumers made the decision to take advantage of significant savings by purchasing foreign manufactured goods and products. There is no management decision that can be made that will influence consumers at the point of purchase to spend more money for goods produced in the US, especially when those savings could be measured in the hundreds of dollars on purchases of products that were and continue to be in the highest demand such as TV's, Computers, and household appliances.

American business adapted, they began manufacturing overseas, and they moved on, they run a business, if you expect them to mop and bitch and whine about the decisions that they made to retain their competitiveness in the market place to insure their future and profitability, well sorry that is not how business works. They move on and grow their business in a manner that best represents the interest of their customers and shareholders..... But make no mistake, the American consumer and their purchasing habits strongly influenced the exportation of many jobs overseas in the same manner that the purchasing habits of Walmart customers have destroyed small businesses and retailers especially in small towns.

You can not simply blame corporations, Americans have to hold themselves to account for the roles that most of us have also played in the outsourcing of jobs.

So we are where we are, like I said earlier we can either sit around and mop about it, you can make demands of corporations that will only lead to their demise, you can somehow be foolish enough to think that somehow the government is going to legislate a prosperous economy, or maybe you should be looking for government to find ways to partner with the business community to create the conditions that will help US business improve their competitiveness in the world market place and regain our innovative edge... Destroying productive capital and turning those assets into food stamps and govt assistance is not going to insure a better future for our children.

Well said! Unfortunately, finding a scapegoat is more attractive than taking responsibility.

The "blame" narrative is the right wing mantra against anyone who has put the spotlight on their greedy fleecing of everyone else. It is as vapid a ploy as trying to shame into silence all critics of implausible official explanations of events with the dreaded charge "conspiracy theorist." In fact, the establishment merely wants its own hare brained conspiracy theory to supplant one that actually makes sense. Here, you prefer that everyone be shamed into retracting their blame of the real culprits so that they can blame themselves instead for conditions they did not create and do not have the power to influence.

In America the plutocracy has all the political power via unlimited amounts of money they are allowed to pour into political ends, yet you guys want us to pretend with you that the people with no access to the politicians are in fact the ones who determine economic developments. Yeah, and the mendacious poor duped the banksters into giving them subprime loans, thus bringing down the entire industry. The best part of all this is that you can say it with a straight face. You should be on the Rush Limbaugh Comedy Show.

The "blame" narrative is the right wing mantra against anyone who has put the spotlight on their greedy fleecing of everyone else. It is as vapid a ploy as trying to shame into silence all critics of implausible official explanations of events with the dreaded charge "conspiracy theorist." In fact, the establishment merely wants its own hare brained conspiracy theory to supplant one that actually makes sense. Here, you prefer that everyone be shamed into retracting their blame of the real culprits so that they can blame themselves instead for conditions they did not create and do not have the power to influence.

In America the plutocracy has all the political power via unlimited amounts of money they are allowed to pour into political ends, yet you guys want us to pretend with you that the people with no access to the politicians are in fact the ones who determine economic developments. Yeah, and the mendacious poor duped the banksters into giving them subprime loans, thus bringing down the entire industry. The best part of all this is that you can say it with a straight face. You should be on the Rush Limbaugh Comedy Show.

Come on PNagy, The root of the subprime fiasco was the Community Regeneration Act (I think that's what it was called) that was passed into law by the Carter administration. The theory was that if the Banks would lower their qualifications for a mortgage loan more minorities would be able to access the American dream of home ownership, but the banks didn't want to risk granting a loan to someone with poor qualifications. The CRA said OK, the government will guarantee the loan and you will have no risk. To some it seemed like a workable idea and through the Regan and GHW Bush administrations it rocked along under the media radar. When Clinton took office the minorities, mostly the blacks, complained they weren't able to get the mortgages because their communities were being "Redlined" by the banks. The black politicians demanded the banks "abandon those discriminatory practices" and threatened them with legal consequences if they didn't. The banks were in effect forced to grant all those mortgages to people, even though they knew they would eventually default and face foreclosure. They had no choice, Congress forced them into it. You must know this is true. Unless you were living in a cave somewhere you have to remember the big stink about "Red Lining" and Congress laying down the law to the mortgage lenders. ........ Coot

,Yeah, and the mendacious poor duped the banksters into giving them subprime loans, thus bringing down the entire industry. The best part of all this is that you can say it with a straight face. You should be on the Rush Limbaugh Comedy Show.