No More "W's"

I think about this a lot and want to bounce it around the room. I hear the cry of politicians nearly constantly about getting involved in the "global economy". I am in sales and I travel a bit. It seems that as I go around that local economy has suffered in more than just a few places. I can't help but wonder what the trade off is here. Have we traded away America? If not, then why are so many small and medium sized towns shrinking? I do realize that the towns surrounding large cities are growing and those areas are becoming "metro". Is it selfish of old farts like me to want "things to be like they used to be"? Am I not getting the big picture?

Wheeldog

You ask an excellent question. Answering it can be a bit discomforting. The label, "Made in American," is becoming increasingly rare. A couple of years ago I visited an Amish settlement in eastern Ohio. I walked around a gift shop admiring the unique handicraft and souvenir items on sale thinking to purchase some as authentic gifts for friends. However, when I turned them over I found the label, "Made in China" or made in other third world countries. Now, there are probably some here who might say, so what? Who cares? Well, I do. It isn't just the object that I wanted to buy but rather a genuine product of a unique culture and lifestyle. We have literally outsourced our souls in exchange for a fast, easy buck or cheap imitation of reality.

No More "W's"

Wheeldog,
I agree with your recogintion of one of the symptoms. I think we have a real problem with less and less manufacturing being done domesticly. The country is becoming a graveyard of small and medium sized towns that used to do a very large percentage of the manufacturing here. What is our end goal? Is China really our priority or is it our own economy? Everytime I go into a store and buy something I feel like I'm providing more steroids for the Chinese economy and I hate that feeling. I'd really like to be able to "buy American" again.

Wheeldog

The foundation of "small town America" was a local economy. Agriculture, manufacturing, resource development, etc. served as the economic underpinning for small-to-middle size towns and cities scattered across the nation. Grocery markets often got their fruits, vegatables, milk, eggs and even meat from local farmers and rancers. The label "Made in America" was found on the great majority of items sold in the stores. Small town life tended to be self contained and supportive. There was a modest pride shared by residents of small towns.

When "outsourcing" really took off it literally gutted small communities. People began to literally chase jobs from one end of the country to the other often pulling up stakes in search of better opportunities. As the centrally located jobs disappeared there was nothing to hold small towns together. Many evolved into bedroom communities where people commuted long distances to get to work and had only marginal commitment to the community itself. Even the shared ritual of local cultural and sports activities was undermined by the replacement of community based schools with the more impersonal mega consuladated schools.

Reminants of small town America continue to exist, but their future is often bleak. Without the local mills, factories, mines, profitable farms, etc. they may rely on seasonal tourism as an economic base. However, tourism is a fickle industry vulnerable to short-term economic slow downs and geopolitical events.