Big Box Mart

My political orientation is conservative/republican.  But one of the areas I believe my party is failing the American people is in the area of free trade and globalization.   What compounds the problem is that the Democrats have chosen not to use the filibuster against unequal trade agreements.

In the Piedmont Triad region we continue to see massive hemorrhaging of good industrial jobs, many of which offered comprehensive benefits.  We gnostically deride how we were mistaken to allow ourselves to become dependent on foreign oil; but then paradoxically allow ourselves to become dependent on foreign nations for virtually the entire range of products upon which we depend.   

The inherent uneven playing field of global trade has undermined American workers.  Those in the lower half of the socioeconomic spectrum have a more precarious, unstable livelihood.   The ability of men to support their families has eroded, so their presence in the home is disincentivized.  We gleefully shop at the big box stores; yet these commercial establishments  are an intrinsic part of the whole problem of exporting jobs, and depriving Americans of the ability to support themselves with integrity without relying on public assistance.

Monday night,  I saw on CNN a remarkable animated piece that captures in a vivid way the whole issue of globalization for American workers.  The piece was, all at once, hilarious and poignant.  Ordinarily I do not post anything that contains vulgarities;  but this piece does,  so be forewarned.  Nonetheless, I want to provide a link to it because it depicts in a special way the truth of our current state of affairs, with obvious implications for the Piedmont Triad.   

Go to www.jibjab.com, and click to watch "Big Box Mart".

Comments

[Rudy]

After using conservative/Republican to describe yourself, you forgot to add "clueless."

No point even debating the myriad ways your 'analysis' is laughably wrong, because I can see it would be hopeless to talk any sense into you.

Suffice it to say that your 'arguments' are based almost entirely on emotions rather than facts.

The success of Big Box stores you and the equally clueless jib jab loathe reflects our growth in productivity, which is the only thing that increases our standard of living.

Companies like Wal-Mart underscore WHY we have the highest standard of living in the world. It's not a symptom of, but a SOLUTION to, the problem you are sanctimoniously weepy about.

Of course, this does require that people take responsibility for making themselves competitive in the workplace through education, hard work, sacrifice, etc.

In fact, it’s very hard to be poor in this country when you do simple things like that.

But why focus on facts when you can just attack "eeeeeevil big companies", right??

BTW, do everybody a favor and, next time you write worthless touchy-feely drivel like this, submit it to the "Carnival of the Socialists".

I’m sure they would be lapping this stuff up over at ANSWER.

Oh, and I want the 5 minutes of my life that you just wasted back, too.

[Joe Guarino]

Rudy, I am afraid I can't give you back the 5 minutes.

But here is where I see the problem. You indicated that the new economy requires that people make themselves competitive through education, hard work, sacrifice, etc.

I work with people for a living. I deal with them all day long-- lots of them, and different people, every day.

I can tell you if we place our faith in the educability and motivation level of the broad population to "make themselves competitive", we are bound to be disappointed. The fact is that there are large percentages of people who will never go far with their education. I recall reading an article just within the last several days that demonstrated how our school systems under-report the number of high school drop-outs. We have these problems with large numbers of drop-outs because of learning disabilities, family issues, motivation deficits, behavior difficulties at young ages, emotional problems, etc.

Whether we like it or not, we will always have large numbers on the edge, on the margins with limited skill levels. They need to be able to support themselves and their families, even if they are unable to adapt to the educational demands of the new economy.

For the record, I am an economic conservative on matters such as taxation, regulation, entitlements, and size of government. I am a constitutional conservative from the standpoint of federalism, and tend toward the originalist camp.

But I am also a social/cultural/pro-family conservative who sees utter value in men being able to support their families. When they cannot, families do not form, families dissolve, women are forced to work even when they might prefer to raise their own kids, kids are left alone to fend for themselves, and the entire cycle of societal pathology spins 'round and 'round.

And I am not sure that I agree with the premise that the ability to purchase more consumer goods inexpensively necessarily equates with a higher standard of living. It depends upon what you value.

[Michael Fagan]

Hello Guys,

I hope you all liked the cartoon. It does carry such a strong political message. I am the guy who stars in the cartoon. Check out my website at www.michaelfagan.actorsite.com
Thanks,
MIKE