The Endangered Competitive Edge of the American Economy

Have you ever wondered why America is as rich as it is? Why doesn’t our wealth just vanish from our country as we continue to consume and the dollar gets weaker? When you look at our economy, have you ever wondered what value we provide the world? The answer to this question is innovation. The edge of innovation is still very prevalent in the United States but other sources around the globe are becoming more prevalent.

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing has headed overseas. Most everything is manufactured in China and Korea in highly efficient workshops. For services and support, India handles most technical support and human-required electronic operator services through complex routing systems. I found it astounding that the emergency call button in my high school elevator linked me to a help desk in Delhi, India. Japan manufactures and sells us most all of our high-end consumer electronics and even a good chunk of our automobile industry. Japan is actually surpassed us in some areas of advanced technologies. The Middle East, South America, and Canada ship most of our petroleum supply to us.

In the lucrative educational arena, the vast majority of our doctorate degrees are being earned by foreign students at our universities. The American student populace has stopped pursuing higher levels of education past the bachelors’ and masters’ degrees while Asian and Southeast Asian levels increase.

As it turns out, American culture, because of its high levels of freedom, produces the most innovation of any society. The Asian and Indian cultures may have the ability to make our ideas more efficient and streamlined but the creation of them is our forte. But this grasp is waning. As we sell our highest end educational degree spots to foreign students and as the rest of the world gains more freedoms, they increase their creation of innovation. Meanwhile our government ramps up rules, regulations, and taxes, which leave less room for innovation and shuts of possibilities that are now becoming more available in other parts of the world. We need to let up on regulations and taxes so new ideas may flourish through our private sector. We need to regain a resolute hold on our edge of innovative competitiveness in the global market.

If anyone who reads this has a different take on the value of the American economy in the global market, please post and let us start a discussion.