The Best American Short Stories: Why Not American?

Friday, November 18, 2011

Why Not American?

America the beautiful, Land of Opportunity, "If You Can't Make it Here, You Can't Make it Anywhere!" These are some of the thoughts we have as citizens of our "once" great country. What's happened to all the stuff that was once "Made in America?"

Despite all the hype and rhetoric, the US stills the world's leading manufacturer, but maybe for not too much longer. Based on 2009 numbers, we just squeaked past China, .7 trillion vs. 1.3 trillion. We lead in the manufacture of high tech products, including: aircraft, industrial machinery, medical and scientific equipment and media related products (publishing and printing). Take Apple for example. They have established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly here in the US of A. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010. As of September 2010 Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees worldwide with sales of .23 billion. They operate factories in China that produce the IPod.

Another example would be, Nike which has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the United States. Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and Malaysia. What if I trip on my sneaker shoelaces, who and where I can I sue?

Other US companies like American Express, Aetna, Amazon, AT&T, Bank of America and Citigroup - with a combined total of 839,000 American employees are either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labor, instead of American workers. The question I ask is, WHY?

Unfortunately, the US has an aging workforce. We are home to 139 of the world's 500 largest multinational companies, nearly twice as much as the runner up, Japan. The average salary at an American multinational was almost ,000, in 2006. That's more than ,000 above the average wage in the private sector. Here come the buts, today we go overseas because that's where the customers are and the employees are more Gen X or Y then baby boomers.

Before closing my tome, I should I'll list some other companies that have chosen to do business outside the borders of the USA. I leave it to you to think whatever you wish or not to think at all!

Bank of New York, Bank One, Becton Dickinson, BellSouth Best Buy Black & Decker Bose Corporation Boeing Bristol-Myers Squibb, Capital One Carter's Caterpillar Cendant Charles Schwab ChevronTexaco Cisco Systems.

Are these "traitors" or simply smart business folks? I don't have the answer. Do you? What do we do? Make more babies to staff the factories? Should we lower salaries, causing further damage to an already "tanking" economy? Perhaps we need to bring back folks like Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein and Colonel Sanders who always seemed to have the answers?