American problems and solutions

[nationalist]

I've been doing a little thinking lately, with the world situation being as it is, and decided to jot down a bit of my political philosophy. I wanted to get some reaction from people of the right, left, and center.


My political rant (or the platform of the new American Nationalist party )

I don't believe in free trade with under developed nations, because I think that the situation exploits both the American and the foreign workers. Under developed countries have lax environmental and labor laws, which our businessmen exploit. Meanwhile, the social structure of America is decaying because the majority of people who would have been industrial workers 40 years ago are forced to work in minimum-wage, no insurance jobs. This lack of adequate employment breeds a hoplessness, while our MTV culture screams that we need to buy the latest designer label. Nike makes $150 off of a $3 dollar shoe, and its young urban market sells drugs to afford those shoes. "American labor is too expensive" is the justification used by the industrialists to squeeze out every drop of money they can, and the majority of the American people are too vain/stupid to refuse to buy their designer crap. Therefore, I suggest that we take up policies that make it cheaper for American businesses to produce in the U.S. than elsewhere. Do this through tariffs. Put in price ceilings o avoid price-gouging; put in wage ceilings to ensure that companies can still make profits.

I propose neutrality as the official American foreign position. We spend billions each year trying to police the world, money that could be given back to the taxpayers or used to create a better education system. Our thanks: a world that hates us. Now we are becoming embroiled in wars that have little point and don't benefit Americans. We may be taking out a threat and doing the world a favor, but Europeans don't seem to think so. I think that we should step back and let them take care of the world for a while. If anyone actually tries to invade our country (which will never happen) then we should use whatever force is necessary to repel them. Other than that, U.S. troops should only be stationed in U.S. territory.

I think that the answer to terrorism is to take back control of our borders. The soldiers that we have stationed in foreign countries should now be stationed to guard the U.S. border. We should know exactly who enters and who leaves our country. We should deport every illegal alien. We should put a moratorium on immigration from all countries until we create an INS that is competent enough to protect us. After all, it issued Visa to some 9/11 terrorists AFTER the attack! Internally, we need to step up CIA investigation of suspected terrorist groupd, be they Muslims, Freemen Militia, KKK, etc. We should inspect everything that comes into our country. If we begin to produce things for ourselves, imports will drop and this job will be much less daunting. Controlling our borders could help us win the war on drugs as well.

All American citizens should be issued ID cards with their social security cards. Americans with IDs are able to travel abroad as they wish. Those without IDs or proof that they have an ID will be deported. Foreigners can visit the U.S. as much as they like, but visitors would need to be registered. We should work out a deal with Canada to register frequent visitors to the U.S. so they could get special I.D. cards. Free exchange of ideas should be allowed and encouraged, and there should be no censorship of the press.

Some form of trade should still go on between the Developed world. Americans would still be able to import French wine, German beer and cars, and other high-quality goods from Europe & Japan. My reasoning is that only the developed world is on equal footing technologically and socially with the U.S., and therefore only the Developed world could truly have free and fair trade with the U.S. Underdeveloped countries aren't can't compete on the same level as us, and inevitably become our slaves. I would transform NAFTA into something that included only the U.S. and Canada, in hopes of developing an even closer bond (Maybe even future integration between Canada and the U.S., with Quebec as an independant country). Perhaps the U.K. could leave the EU and join the new NAFTA, since it doesn't like to cooperate with the EU anymore

We should drill into whatever oil reserves that we have, as well as try to create alternative forms of energy to
break away from our dependence on Mid-East oil.

I suggest that this industrial isolation continue until we have created an effective system of education that includes free vocational school to train students in usefull trades, such as plumbing or construction. Only after we have created an effective education system would I relax my autarkic system, but I would still require that the U.S. produce at least 1/3 of its basic goods (steel, textiles, etc.) on its own.

I suggest these policies because I have a fear that our country is rotting from the bottom. The youth of our nation are swiftly becoming incapable of upholding a democratic form of government. I place the blame on there not being a way out for many people who are not wealthy or scholarly enough to get a university education. Our "proletarian" population is decaying into a large, uneducated, semi-employeed service class. Unionized industiral jobs could solve this problem, providing otherwise hopless people with insurance and vacation time. Our pourous borders are inviting for terrorists and cheap workers who undercut American wages (BTW, Bush was going to grant a general amnesty to all illegal aliens in the country shortly before 9/11. This would have made the terrorists citizens of the U.S.) Our country has developed a foreign policy that makes us hated worldwide, one with little benefit to the average American, but one with a high price tag. Combined with pourous borders and you have a situation where every American is at risk from a terrorist attack. Spending $78 billionTaking out a tinpot Middle Eastern dictator won't solve the problem.It is time for us to make a change and get out of this doom spiral that we are swiftly falling into. The Republicans and the Democrats are unwilling & unable to do anything about it. It is time for a change.

I feel a bit better now.

So, how crazy do you all think I am?

[Jules]

Let me just say that I agree with you on the generalities, but not necessarily the specifics. I welcome your call for America to return to more of a producer society orientation, which we had prior to the mid-1960s. The internal development of the United States, as well as the rest of the world, requires that we abandon the failed ideology of free trade and return to protectionist arrangements. I think that over time this kind of mission orientation will greatly improve our culture too. At best free trade can only efficiently distribute existing wealth, but what the world requires is the creation of new wealth. I think you're right in that we can safely maintain open market arrangements with the developed sector. With the developing world we have to become exporters of high-tech capital goods that these countries need for their own internal development. Again this will require stable, long-term arrangements that are necessarily protectionist.

I don't favor the isolationist posture that you seem to be advocating however. To be sure we should respect the sovereignty of other nations, and only interfere when it's absolutely necessary (e.g., if one state is threatening the sovereignty of another). I agree with you that we've been getting ourselves involved in wars that serve little purpose and ultimately serve an imperialist agenda, including the present war on Iraq (whether the justification is humanitarian relief, human rights, regime change, or WMD). This includes the military actions under Clinton btw, just to prove that I'm consistent with the principle. I think our dealings with other nations should be centered around promoting peaceful economic cooperation and development. As the developing world becomes more advanced, I'm optimistic that the people in these countries themselves will rise to demand human rights and other such cultural changes that the US is currently trying to force upon them. After all, that's how civil rights was accomplished here in the US. We ourselves demanded the changes and won them. It wasn't imposed upon us by the rest of the world.

Finally, I don't think the problems of drug trafficking and illegal aliens can be stopped by sealing off our borders with troops. As the failure of the "War on Drugs" demonstrates, increasingly ruthless measures over time are necessary to achieve the same results. These problems ultimately originate from underdeveloped parts of the world. The best way to promote our national security IMO is to cooperate with Mexico and Latin America, for example, in developing their economies.

But overall good post.

[monkspider]

I agree, good post, even if I do not agree with every last point. For your being a fascist, and myself a Commie, we have a surprising amount of common ground.

[nationalist]

Originally posted by monkspider
I agree, good post, even if I do not agree with every last point. For your being a fascist, and myself a Commie, we have a surprising amount of common ground.

Maybe its because my dad is a steel worker, and I come from a place where I can witness the bad side of globalization first hand. However, I know that our social philosophies are very different.

[David Floyd]

I'm gonna refute each and every point, one at a time, after I eat.

[Asher]

Originally posted by nationalist
Maybe its because my dad is a steel worker, and I come from a place where I can witness the bad side of globalization first hand. However, I know that our social philosophies are very different.

And what if I said my dad was a steel worker that got a job because your dad lost one?

Am I less important than you are?

[nationalist]

Originally posted by Asher

And what if I said my dad was a steel worker that got a job because your dad lost one?

It depends. If your dad was a good worker and mine was a drunk, then he deserves it. But if your dad got the job because he worked in a country that didn't have labor laws or unions, and worked for $1 an hour, I'd say that both people were getting screwed.

[monkspider]

Originally posted by David Floyd
I'm gonna refute each and every point, one at a time, after I eat.

Woo hoo! A Libertarian vs. A Fascist, now *THIS* should be interesting!
See, this is precisely why you ought to hang around these parts more often, Nat.

[Asher]

Originally posted by nationalist
It depends. If your dad was a good worker and mine was a drunk, then he deserves it. But if your dad got the job because he worked in a country that didn't have labor laws or unions, and worked for $1 an hour, I'd say that both people were getting screwed.

How would my dad be screwed? We were living in absolute poverty before. There is no welfare in my country. When I'm out of a job, I'm out of a job. I have mouths to feed.

That $1/hour may not mean much in America, but in some countries where the average annual salary is $400US, it can go a long way.

The basic fallacy of your argument is the jobs are simply moving. One person gets screwed, one person gets benefitted.

[nationalist]

Originally posted by monkspider


Woo hoo! A Libertarian vs. A Fascist, now *THIS* should be interesting!
See, this is precisely why you ought to hang around these parts more often, Nat.

I'd like to, but I've been busy as hell this year. In fact, I should have been doing work tonight, but I was bored with it and decided to type something instead.

[nationalist]

Originally posted by Asher

How would my dad be screwed?

Even if in his poverty stricken country He's screwed by the conditions that he has to work in and screwed by the fact that he has no representation. However, that is something that his fellow workers have to sort out. I'm more concerned with the workers in my country, hence the name. They're the ones on the screwed end of the movement of jobs.

[Asher]

Originally posted by nationalist
I'm more concerned with the workers in my country, hence the name.

I just wanted to make sure you believed you and your countrymen are more worthy of employment than people in other countries.

[nationalist]

I do believe that, because we are buying the products.
Why should the Chinese worker put the American worker out of work providing goods for the American consumer in the first place? The American consumer isn't seeing that much of a savings, I'll guarantee you that.
Why can't Chinese people be employed making products for their own country?

[MrFun]

I have a question about fascism.

Doesn't part of fascist ideology advocate racial supremacy? Or does contemporary fascism refute that?

[Asher]

Originally posted by nationalist
I do believe that, because we are buying the products.
Why should the Chinese worker put the American worker out of work providing goods for the American consumer in the first place? The American consumer isn't seeing that much of a savings, I'll guarantee you that.
Why can't Chinese people be employed making products for their own country?

Can we extend this logic to say people of high income should have priority for all employment opportunities, since they buy more products?