You Didn't Build That!

Abigail and Dolley readers I try to stay out of the headline of the day, minutia of the news cycle.  To be involved in the daily grind of outrage, death, and destruction is ultimately unhealthy.  There is nothing edifying about it.  Paul knew what he was talking about when he said, Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. There is very little about the news cycle that fits that criteria. 

That being said, I just can't seem to let Obama's speech in Roanoke pass without comment, as the wife of a struggling entrepreneur, I have to chime in.   "If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Marinate on that for a moment, that is flat out Communism.  It's code for, you have no right to the fruit of your labor - collectively, we get it.  I have intimated in my writings for the last few years of the struggle my family and I have gone through, much of it to do with the sacrifices we have chosen to make in pursuit of our own business.

I invented a revolutionary product in the sweltering heat of July in 2010.  For the last 24 months, my husband has worked to bring that product to market.  By doing so, we have sacrificed an income, spent all of our savings, and struggled with the overwhelming stress of economic uncertainty; in pursuit of the dream.  We have done it with no loans, no money, and no help from anyone.

Our story is not unique, it is the story of small business, it is the story of the origins of big business, and the story of America.  It is not surprising that Barack Obama has this view because this is HIS life experience.  The evidence to support this statement is abundant, one must simply look at his legislative record as a State Senator and a US Senator - there is no accomplishment in his WORK to justify his current position.  Hell, he's the most do nothing President we've ever had.  He's golfed more, vacationed more, and worked less than any President in modern times.  His Oval Office work ethic is said to be atrocious, arriving, if at all, after 10am and doing very little.  Why do you think he has all those "czars"?  They do the job that HE is supposed to do.

"You didn't build that, somebody else made that happen."
 
That is not an American worldview.  That is not a Capitalist mentality.  Once again, the Emperor Has No Clothes.

Chinese Manufacturing and Why the USA Should NOT be Behind

I recently had a very interesting opportunity to learn about Chinese Manufacturing from a gentlemen I met from Qingdao (pronounced Ching-Dow).  We were picking on him for all of the Chinese Holidays and he explained why this was so.  80% of all workers in China are what we would refer to as long term commuters.  Meaning that they leave their families at home in the countryside and come to the city for work.  Only during the two week or one month holidays do they get to go home to see their families.

Guangzhou Train Station

Now from an American mindset, we would get in the car and drive home.  Not so in China, they have to try and get a bus or train ticket.  Eager workers can wait up to a week to try and buy a ticket, many will not be successful.  Traffic jams in and out of the cities can last a week.  Many workers once they finally make it home, will not return to the factories.  Instead they take the money they have saved and open grocery stores and the like in their own villages.  Thus, the highly skilled workers needed for complex manufacturing are always turning over.

Beijing Traffic Jam

This is where the American Manufacturing, workforce, and culture SHOULD be able to kick the Chinese collective butts.  We have an educated, stable, and motivated workforce who can go home every night to their families.  We also are the primary consumers of many of the products the world makes so shipping costs remain constant and are not subject to the massive fluctuations we have seen in International Freight.

So why are we loosing this battle?  I contend we have two problems - Government and Unions.  Both of which are represented as the "answer" to the current economic catastrophe we are in by the party in power.  The Democrats represent bigger and more powerful entities that are in my opinion the most significant impediment to recovery and world competitiveness.

Government suppresses American Manufacturing in a number of ways but primarily with punitive taxes and regulations.  Once again, the Democrats class warfare on the "evil rich" and their penchant for "safety" regulations render it virtually impossible to put out a competitive product.

Unions strangle the ability for businesses to adapt, change, and maximize a skilled work force by ridiculous rules and wages that far outpace the market.  Pensions, lavish healthcare plans, and inflexibility also make it much more difficult to compete.

As I listened to the Chinese gentleman describing the real situation in the Chinese firms, I couldn't help but think that the Democrats actually admire China and if they had their way, we would be just like them.  The American spirit will never be subjected like this though, they have forgotten who they are in their quest for control and power, but the American people have not forgotten.

We will begin to throw off the bonds of regulation, government, and communist unions.  We will begin to rise again and we will not loose our place in the world, no matter what the Democrats would like.  We The People will never submit.