Republicans won a big victory last night as Americans feel that the economic “recovery” has bypassed them. Jobs and the economy was the number one issue for voters.
The GOP successfully argued that their team was the better choice for ordinary Americans. Now they need to fulfill that mandate by focusing upon creating good jobs in this country, rebuilding our manufacturing supply chains, and halt the hollowing out of our economy.
President Obama’s approval rating has been at low 2010 levels. Although past presidents have seen similar approval ratings in their 6th year, Democratic candidates across the country were successfully attached to the President’s very heavy coat tails.
One of Obama’s biggest mistakes was hiring the same old Wall Street financier crowd that has prioritized asset values and the stock market over the real economy. Tim Geithner, Michael Froman, and Larry Summers favored their Citibank and Goldman Sachs buddies as manufacturing and agricultural supply chains struggled. The GOP, of course, does not come to this game innocently. George Bush’s hires included Gregory Mankiw and Hank Paulson who are basically clones of Geithner/Froman/Summers.
How does the GOP maintain the public trust? Well, jobs and the economy. You create jobs by rebuilding our real economy…. you know, the place where most people work. Manufacturing and agricultural supply chains add value at every level, employ people, absorb and produce innovation, spin off multiple other jobs, build wealth and grow tax revenue for the country.
Alexander Hamilton was a leader among the Founding Fathers in building the productive capacity of our country. He drafted the 1791 Report on Manufactures which laid out a plan for the US to create industry here rather than relying upon cheaper goods from Britain. The fact that much of our technology and productivity was pre-competitive did not prevent our Founding Fathers from adopting the plan later.
The modern de-industrialization of our economy could not have occurred without the multilateral and bilateral trade agreement policies that offshored our previously dominant supply chains. We invented, but lost, technology systems including:
• Compact fluorescent lighting• LCDs for monitors, TVs and handheld devices like mobile phones electrophoretic displays• Lithium ion, lithium polymer and NiMH batteries• Advanced rechargeable batteries for hybrid vehicles• Crystalline and polycrystalline silicon solar cells
• Inverters and power semiconductors for solar panels• Desktop, notebook and netbook PCs• Low-end servers, hard disk drives• Consumer networking gear such as routers, access points, and home set-top boxes• Advanced composite used in sporting goods and other consumer gear• Advanced ceramics and integrated circuit packaging.
The GOP needs to focus upon maintaining US sovereignty and rebuilding America. They need to think like Alexander Hamilton. Then they will have a chance at the White House in 2016.
