America is being sold piece by piece. Much of our Federal and State infrastructure is now owned by foreign governments and multi-national corporations so that they can turn around and make a profit off of Americans using them. America has become little more than a flea market for the rest of the world, who are awash with American dollars because of the "unregulated" free-trade policies of the Republican party.
Below the fold are excerpts from an Article written by Thom Hartmann in 2006. I was going to write a diary myself on this subject, but found this article that says it better than I ever could. If you get a chance please read it. The link is below the fold. I completely agree with this well written article and his sentiments.
Here is the original article...When Americans No Longer Own America
Below is a list of American companies, and their percentage of foreign ownership, from his article:
· Sound recording industries - 97%
· Commodity contracts dealing and brokerage - 79%
· Motion picture and sound recording industries - 75%
· Metal ore mining - 65%
· Motion picture and video industries - 64%
· Wineries and distilleries - 64%
· Database, directory, and other publishers - 63%
· Book publishers - 63%
· Cement, concrete, lime, and gypsum product - 62%
· Engine, turbine and power transmission equipment - 57%
· Rubber product - 53%
· Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing - 53%
· Plastics and rubber products manufacturing - 52%
· Plastics product - 51%
· Other insurance related activities - 51%
· Boiler, tank, and shipping container - 50%
· Glass and glass product - 48%
· Coal mining - 48%
· Sugar and confectionery product - 48%
· Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying - 47%
· Advertising and related services - 41%
· Pharmaceutical and medicine - 40%
· Clay, refractory, and other nonmetallic mineral products - 40%
· Securities brokerage - 38%
· Other general purpose machinery - 37%
· Audio and video equipment mfg and reproducing magnetic and optical media - 36%
· Support activities for mining - 36%
· Soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparation - 32%
· Chemical manufacturing - 30%
· Industrial machinery - 30%
· Securities, commodity contracts, and financial investments and related activities - 30%
· Other food - 29%
· Motor vehicles and parts - 29%
· Machinery manufacturing - 28%
· Other electrical equipment and component - 28%
· Securities and commodity exchanges and other financial investment activities - 27%
· Architectural, engineering, and related services - 26%
· Credit card issuing and other consumer credit - 26%
· Petroleum refineries (including integrated) - 25%
· Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments - 25%
· Petroleum and coal products manufacturing - 25%
· Transportation equipment manufacturing - 25%
· Commercial and service industry machinery - 25%
· Basic chemical - 24%
· Investment banking and securities dealing - 24%
· Semiconductor and other electronic component - 23%
· Paint, coating, and adhesive - 22%
· Printing and related support activities - 21%
· Chemical product and preparation - 20%
· Iron, steel mills, and steel products - 20%
· Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery - 20%
· Publishing industries - 20%
· Medical equipment and supplies - 20%
America is being sold piece by piece because we don't have the money to support our lifestyle. There is not nearly enough tax revenue coming in to pay for the things we need. The FDA has been cut so much that it can't stop poisionus food, toys, and other products from coming into our country. Homeland security is a joke because there isn't nearly enough money to properly fund its mission. The FED has allowed the dollar and financial institutions to collapse because they didn't want to spend the money needed to regulate their activity. Our infrastructure is crumbling all around us because states just don't have the money to repair it. This goes on and on, agency after agency, cutbacks so that Americans are left to the whims of corporate crooks and multi-national corporations.
Bush has decided that corporations will police themselves and "do the right thing". Free Trade is free for everyone except the American people. Hard working Americans are paying for it daily. No matter how hard we work we will never be able to compete with cheap foreign labor. It has been shown time and time again that corporations care about only one thing: profit. So what if American's homes are taken, American kids go hungry or, as in the case of Iraq, die in the process. There was a buck to be made.
We have been programmed to spend in excees of what we earn. On a national scale, that amounts to deficit spending. IT CAN NOT CONTINUE. The natioal debt limit has just been raised to over $10 TRILLION. We've borrowed all the excess SS revenue for over 50 years just to prop up our economy. Since Bush came to office, we have escalated the amount we are also borrowing from foreign countries, both friend and foe alike. If we continue to borrow, the dollar will continue to drop. Sooner or later, those we are borrowing money from will have no choice but to say, NO MORE.
The national debt is now $10.6 trillion, and that is equivalent to about 75% of America's gross domestic product. This will probably devalue the dollar as America becomes a more risky place for investment
The sad part is, WE CAN NOT STOP BORROWING. If we stopped tomorrow, the economy would collapse. It is just a matter of time anyway. Our government is trying to shore up an economic house of cards. Unfortunately it is built upon a pit of quick sand. Therefore regardless of what they do to help the current economy, it will continue to get worse unless drastic action is taken. It may be too late already.
In 2014 the excess SS funds go away and the system will be at parity. After that date the money needed to pay retiree benifits will have to come from an already underfunded general fund. That will mean even less funds for education, military, social programs, infrastructure, government agencies and all other things our government spends money on.
Just like a cough may be a symptom of a cold, the current recession and selling off our infrastruce is just a symptom of this much larger economic problem that we must fix if we are going to survive as a nation.
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I will include a link to a diary I wrote along similar lines on Corporate Greed and as usual a link to my diary on our economic future