AMERICA WILL SURVIVE!
Pat Buchanan has a new book out that declares the end of America. Day of Reckoning says America is coming apart from the inside and the United States is unlikely to survive past 2060. Buchanan says, “We are on a path to national suicide.” Pat cites several reasons for his doomsday forecast. First, the military is too small to meet our global commitments. Second, the dollar has plunged to historic lows and is being abandoned by foreign governments. Third, manufacturing in the U.S. is on the decline. Fourth, the out of control illegal immigration that has basically resulted in the loss of the Southwest to Mexico. Fifth, the culture is collapsing and people are now aligning themselves by race and class. And finally, a fiscal crisis is inevitable due to the unfunded mandates of Social Security and Medicare.
On the issue of trade, Buchanan is a “protectist” or some would call him an “isolatist”- that is one that believes the U.S. should protect itself from foreign competition by imposing stiff tariffs on goods imported into our country. Buchanan’s stance is not without support. Founding fahter, Alexander Hamilton of The Federalist Papers fame wrote: “Not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers. Every nation...ought to endeavor to posses within itself all the essentials of a national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitation, clothing and defense.” America's political independence, Hamilton was saying, could not survive without economic independence. The world has changed a tad since Hamilton wrote those words, but it’s a proven fact that America is losing the manufacturing base.
Trade agreements like NAFTA and GATT have made it easier for US companies to move their manufacturing operations to foreign countries where labor costs are less and governmental regulation is not as restrictive. Free trade has shipped jobs, factories, and technology to China. In the last twenty years, twenty percent of the manufacturing jobs in America have left the country.
Buchanan points out that in 1960, eighty nine percent of the United States population was European-Americans. That number is now sixty six percent and declining. Buchanan predicts by the year 2050, over 100 million Hispanics will be living in America, most in the Southwest U.S. states, including Oklahoma.
Buchanan offers several recommendations to turn the tide. He recommends closing most of the 1,000 military bases abroad and bringing the troops home. He says we need a return to federalism and the overthrow of our judicial dictatorship by Congressionally mandated restrictions on the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. He also urges that no amnesty be granted to the 12-20 million illegal aliens in our country and that a fence from San Diego to Brownsville be erected.
Pat has the problem diagnosed, but his treatment is one that is not rooted in reality. Take the issue of manufacturing for example. Not only is America losing manufacturing jobs, but so is Japan, Brazil, and China. That’s right- China. China the manufacturing capital of the world, lost 15% of their manufacturing jobs the past ten years. The reason- higher productivity and more automation. All over the world, factories are becoming more efficient. They've installed new equipment and utilized new technology. And that often means fewer jobs. Take a look at the automobile industry. Fewer people work in that sector but they're able to make a lot more cars. That's happening all over America and throughout the world, in any industry where you can use machines and know-how to make people more productive.
Pat Buchanan has a new book out that declares the end of America. Day of Reckoning says America is coming apart from the inside and the United States is unlikely to survive past 2060. Buchanan says, “We are on a path to national suicide.” Pat cites several reasons for his doomsday forecast. First, the military is too small to meet our global commitments. Second, the dollar has plunged to historic lows and is being abandoned by foreign governments. Third, manufacturing in the U.S. is on the decline. Fourth, the out of control illegal immigration that has basically resulted in the loss of the Southwest to Mexico. Fifth, the culture is collapsing and people are now aligning themselves by race and class. And finally, a fiscal crisis is inevitable due to the unfunded mandates of Social Security and Medicare.
On the issue of trade, Buchanan is a “protectist” or some would call him an “isolatist”- that is one that believes the U.S. should protect itself from foreign competition by imposing stiff tariffs on goods imported into our country. Buchanan’s stance is not without support. Founding fahter, Alexander Hamilton of The Federalist Papers fame wrote: “Not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers. Every nation...ought to endeavor to posses within itself all the essentials of a national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitation, clothing and defense.” America's political independence, Hamilton was saying, could not survive without economic independence. The world has changed a tad since Hamilton wrote those words, but it’s a proven fact that America is losing the manufacturing base.
Trade agreements like NAFTA and GATT have made it easier for US companies to move their manufacturing operations to foreign countries where labor costs are less and governmental regulation is not as restrictive. Free trade has shipped jobs, factories, and technology to China. In the last twenty years, twenty percent of the manufacturing jobs in America have left the country.
Buchanan points out that in 1960, eighty nine percent of the United States population was European-Americans. That number is now sixty six percent and declining. Buchanan predicts by the year 2050, over 100 million Hispanics will be living in America, most in the Southwest U.S. states, including Oklahoma.
Buchanan offers several recommendations to turn the tide. He recommends closing most of the 1,000 military bases abroad and bringing the troops home. He says we need a return to federalism and the overthrow of our judicial dictatorship by Congressionally mandated restrictions on the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. He also urges that no amnesty be granted to the 12-20 million illegal aliens in our country and that a fence from San Diego to Brownsville be erected.
Pat has the problem diagnosed, but his treatment is one that is not rooted in reality. Take the issue of manufacturing for example. Not only is America losing manufacturing jobs, but so is Japan, Brazil, and China. That’s right- China. China the manufacturing capital of the world, lost 15% of their manufacturing jobs the past ten years. The reason- higher productivity and more automation. All over the world, factories are becoming more efficient. They've installed new equipment and utilized new technology. And that often means fewer jobs. Take a look at the automobile industry. Fewer people work in that sector but they're able to make a lot more cars. That's happening all over America and throughout the world, in any industry where you can use machines and know-how to make people more productive.
On the issue of federalism, Buchanan is right. True federalism accommodates profound national disagreement by allowing each state to tailor the local climate to suit itself. Federalism is an escape-valve that lets polarizing bitterness blow off into the stratosphere. The authors of The Federalist Papers knew that each state must be allowed to run its own show. "Everyone knows that a great proportion of the errors committed by the State legislatures," writes James Madison in Federalist 46, "proceeds from the disposition of the members to sacrifice the comprehensive and permanent interests of the State, to the particular and separate views of the counties or districts in which they reside." The US House and Senate do indeed work that way. The Federalist authors were right. The Representatives from each state “represent” their varied constituency. What Madison, Hamilton, and Jay failed to foresee was the transformation of the Supreme Court into a third chamber, a U.S. version of Britain's House of Lords in its heyday, with unelected members who serve for life and do not represent constituencies. Buchanan rightly advocates restricting the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
While Buchanan’s new book leaves little hope for America’s survival, Pat fails to take into account the resolve of the American people. Time and time again, Americans have stepped up to plate when it looked like the Republic was going to fall. The question will be- when the time comes to bat, will we have enough loyal “Americans” left to take a swing?
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