Economics 101

I’ve never been accused of being a whiz at economics, but indiscriminate outsourcing and corporate greed seem to be destroying American businesses and the American dream. The following are just a few examples that support my theory.

1. Potential customers must be able to afford your product. Manufacturers move jobs overseas and force Americans to take new jobs with much lower wages so upper-level managers and stockholders can receive more income. Those who now work the exported jobs also receive much less pay. Both groups, a substantial portion of citizens in the world, have little expendable income. Who will buy the products now? Though this country has more millionaires than ever before, how many of the same items will they want to buy? Duh!
2. If people cannot afford to pay for the necessities of life, those who provide those necessities will suffer as well. How many people will lose their homes, have their utilities turned off, or die because they can’t afford medical care before the providers of these services learn the realities of this lesson.
3. Businesses can lose sales when customer service representatives in foreign countries are unfamiliar with the nuances of the language and culture of their customers. How many times have you been frustrated with not being able to understand or be understood by a customer service representative? How long did you continue to suffer through this lack of communication before you took your business somewhere else?
4. As Mattel recently learned, quality control in mass production can be difficult to maintain from a distance. I haven’t seen any figures on the company’s total losses from the two recent recalls of their toys that are made in China, but if the products in question had cost as little as $2 each, Mattel would’ve lost more than $36 million dollars in the second recall alone. I’m sure the total was much higher, and it doesn’t include the loss of future sales due to decreased consumer confidence.
5. Service is not based on what is best for businesses or their shareholders. It is based on what is best for customers. Happy workers who feel secure produce good products and provide good service. Satisfied customers repeatedly return to companies that provide good products and services. When people buy a company’s products, company leaders and stockholders as well as the workers who produced the products should share the wealth. That’s one reason why Toyota is beating it’s American competitors.

Corporate leaders in America pursue policies that exploit workers around the world, destroy their own businesses, and lead to erosion of life in our own country. Our greatest enemy is not terrorism. We have seen the enemy, and it is us.