Negative Feedback Loop

In these trying times there is a danger of losing sight of the bigger picture, the little guy, the long term consequences, and even the real goal of recovery. I believe many are losing sight of something, allow me to explain:

I am a new type of small businessman. I am wired, but more importantly, I am international. Automated translation services have helped this endeavor, but like many Americans I lack fluency in any language other than English. However, because I am America, no one bats an eye at meeting with me in English.

Do not ruin this for me.

We Americans have enjoyed a long run at the top of the business world. However, I see a worrying trend in American society. Anti-intellectualism is running deep. Our business culture is so focused on short-term profit that they ship even our innovation overseas. American teams are producing clones of the successful product from last year and all of the interesting work is being done by others. Despite being a people that pride ourselves on industrialism and innovation, we've been cashing innovation and robust industry out for a quick buck for years now. We're starting to see the bitter fruits of that kind of strategy.

For thirty years Republicans in America have been working under the assumption that giving money to the wealthy will cause them to consume products that generate American jobs and invest in projects that support American business. This has not been the case. Income for the middle class has stagnated while productivity per worker has continued to increase. This is damming evidence that trickle down economics have watered few but the highest flowers. Investment of this additional capital has turned out to have been ephemeral. Instead of investing in business, billions were wasted in a speculative gambling system where it was impossible to lose. Only, it turned out to be all too possible to lose, and lose massively while creating nothing and consuming all. Even the investments in American business did not generate jobs and prosperity. Corporate profits just two years ago where at an all-time high and these profits were used to buy back stock, a move that only enriched the wealthy and inflated the market's value.

By ever measure of wealth distribution, social mobility, and class division, America has started to lag behind the rest of the first world. And now, in terms of innovation, research, and industrial power, we are starting to slip.

Stimulus is about more than creating a few do-nothing jobs. Funding for advanced battery manufacture, broadband infrastructure, and transportation infrastructure will help spurn American business. From the public sector, wise investments in companies willing to grind out modest profits while supplying high-quality products and employing highly-skilled workers in high-potential industries will be the lifeblood of recovery. Strong, stable companies are required to provide America the rock-solid base from which to take flights of fancy and innovative leaps. When they crash, we've lost only excess profits and learned much from the endeavor. When they soar, we will be again living up to the American ideal.