This week-end, our country will celebrate its 228th anniversary. Let's keep in mind exactly what this country was founded upon, particularly relevant considering the state of America right now.
Exploration and colonization of America was based upon profit margin. The British Colony sent people here because they saw the New World as a huge ATM machine, full of untapped resources that could be plundered at a minimal investment. Many early settlers were expected to pay back the cost of their passage by producing goods that were sent back to Britain. They were happy to do this because their income was not taxed as it was in Britain.
The colonization of America had little to do with religion, although colonists were religious. The almighty buck was the predominant driving force.
America today is not so different. People immigrate to America to improve their financial standing. We are known as the land of opportunity.
In the meantime, more and more jobs are being sent away from America. Manufacturing can be done much cheaper in Asia. Got a pair of Nikes? Look at the label on the tongue. Mine were made in Viet Nam. Please note, this will be the last pair of Nikes I own. They were very sub standardly made considering the price I paid for them. Had I known before I bought them that they were produced in what is probably a sweat shop, I wouldn't have bought them. And do I really kid myself that the people manufacturing these shoes are paid a decent wage, working reasonable hours with benefits?
Call your credit card company to check the balance on your account. Where does your call go? Chances are you will be speaking to someone who doesn't have an American social security number, let alone an American accent.
Dude, Got a Dell? Call them for support. You will get the Taj Mahal branch of Dell very likely.
In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of people in America are out of work. I know, my husband is one of them. The political pundits like to say that unemployment is going down, but this is really misleading. Unemployment rates are going down because you can only receive unemployment for a certain amount of time. Once you stop receiving unemployment benefits, the government really has no way of tracking of who is looking for work and unable to find a job.
Let us not forget the merry premise of the creation of jobs. What, a new Wal-Mart opened? Oh, that will create several hundred jobs! And Wal-Mart's starting hourly wage is what? Eight to ten dollars an hour? This is not a living wage unless you are able to live rent or mortgage free and have very few bills and don't have a child or children to support. Let's all do the Wal-Mart cheer now!
We can spend billions of dollars on a war, yet there are millions of people in this country, the "land of opportunity" who can't afford health insurance, who can't afford to take a day off work without going without groceries, who live from paycheck from paycheck with no safety net in case of emergency. Many school districts across the country do not have money in their budgets for such essentials like toilet paper or pencils. If you child wants to play sports, it's Pay to Play, which is out of the reach of many middle-class households.
I can only quote the great line from the movie Dazed and Confused, which takes place during 1976, the bicentennial: "When you celebrate the Bicentennial, remember what this country was founded on. A bunch of rich white men who didn't want to pay their taxes!"
Not much has changed.
For further reference, see also my post on the PBS series Colonial House.
Comments