ASU2003

If taken to the other extreme, where everything will be imported from foreign countries, what would be left here? Farming is done by a relatively small workforce now, banking should never have become as big as it did, same with real estate, health care isn't an easy thing to get into, and law school is just as tough. There is truck driving, home repair, and taxi driving but those jobs will be done by immigrants for a lower price.

All of a sudden we would become like India with a rich upper class and a poor bottom class that is poor for various reasons.

And there are things that are only made in America (aren't there still?). If the government bought those first, they would get back 40% or so in taxes (sales, income, capital gains, corporate taxes, etc...). The Americans who got paid for doing the work, would then buy products made in foreign countries. And this would improve the foreign economy, and then they may buy some products from another country, inside their own country, or even from the US. It is the whole velocity of money idea, that only works when the money moves through all sectors and all of the countries.

And the macroeconomic idea of outsourcing jobs that no one wants when unemployment is at 4%, starts to lose credibility when the unemployment level is 15%. Then it is all about the cheap labor.

And it all comes down to the inflation dilemma. The previous generation wants their investments/savings to go up and be worth more, but also want prices to come down to where they were when they were young. The only way to do that is to cut costs in the production. Labor is a big expense, as is natural resources used to make items. But, the other way is to take out the demand for the products. If no one can afford to buy things, the well-to-do people will be able to buy things cheaply.