Creationism

The country is looking for a creator, you know. No, not The Creator. He’s doing quite well these days. I guess most everyone is praying for a solution to the stagnant economy and bleak unemployment figures. Rather, the creator I speak of is the entity that creates jobs for the masses seeking gainful employment.

It is said by many that government cannot create jobs. Tell that to the myriad of workers receiving a paycheck from various and sundry local, state, and federal coffers.  But we’re also possessed with paring down the size of government and, in so doing, only add to the unemployment rolls in a time where we are also trying to pare them down. Confusing, isn’t it?

Government can, however, create an atmosphere more conducive to job openings within the private sector. Lower taxes on business, less red tape and the like, or tax credits for expansion are just a few being bandied about. (Business likes to throw in less oversight, but that’s what created much of the mess the world finds itself in today, so I’d say we may need a pinch more money and personnel on the oversight side of things.)

Unfortunately, we’re witnessing an unparalleled Congressional logjam where any potentially successful program is unpopular because it might reflect favorably on a President the House majority is trying to oust. Without the cooperation of Congress, government has little to offer, job creation wise.

Banks could loan sought-after funding to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and homeowners. But they don’t (or won’t). They claim that credit requirements are tighter than ever, but they’re sitting on historic piles of cash (largely provided by us via TARP) and choose to “loan” their bucks to Uncle Sam for a guaranteed, albeit lower, return on their investment. And guess who pays the return? Yup: you and I.

The corporate world is also awash with large sums to use for investment and expansion. I believe that they’d rather play high stakes poker with the politicos and see how many perks, exemptions, and loopholes their lobbyists can create in the name of promised future growth. And others, still, like to think that their reluctance will be blamed on a Democratic administration that will then be defeated in November 2012. Either way, it doesn’t amount to many jobs, does it?

And there you have it: government can’t do much and the unholy alliance of banks and big business won’t. Each blames the other for being the major impediment to a brighter and bigger tomorrow when, in reality, it is a circle in great need of a knife to cut the continuing cycle of inactivity.

This is where I normally exhort the reader to get involved and change the direction of things, but I’m at a loss in thinking of anything we can presently accomplish. We can send emails to our representatives, but I don’t believe that they’ll change their allegiance to whichever altar they currently worship. And we don’t have the money to take our business elsewhere.

So we hunker down and count our currency, hoping that the great job creator will rise out of the ashes and save our day. I guess that’s why The Creator is finding new customers daily as more and more turn to prayer. Will the tide turn? I think so, eventually. I certainly hope so, anyway. But our society is used to instant gratification and waiting even an extra thirty minutes for a meal is unbearable. Should it come as any great surprise that we’re equally, if not more, impatient when talking about turnarounds that could take several years?

In the meantime, keep an eye on your elected representatives so you know if they chose politics over progress come next November. And be ready to reward businesses that took chances on investment when you once again have a dollar or two extra to spend. Not the best prescription for a happy day, I know, but with a little patience and fortitude we can all live to see the other side of the coin. 

Sociopathic Capitalism

Those of you familiar with my musings know that I include the lack of corporate morality as a root cause for many of today’s ills. Today, I’d like to zero in on a more specific area, albeit related: capitalism without conscience.

Capitalism makes our economic engine churn. Historically, entities interested in making money found it extremely advantageous to make something that others would want to purchase. Nothing harmful, mind you, because any success would be short-lived once customers started falling by the wayside. Also, to be considered a good neighbor, there would be no disposing of toxins, etc. in an unsafe manner. In other words: conscience strode hand-in-hand with profitability and long-term viability. And this was a good thing.

Over time, however, “long-term” was redefined as this fiscal year or perhaps even a quarter as executive compensation escalated and golden parachutes became the exit of preference from any boardroom. All of a sudden, making money now took precedence over making money the right way. Manufacturing was sent off-shore because, after all, making something here required commitment and a large, expensive labor force.

Small, family businesses were not immune as they were beset by children loathe to follow in their ancestral endeavors. With no one to carry on the legacy, many enterprises were shuttered or sold to conglomerates who had long ago forsaken any whit of conscience. And the wheel continued to turn.

We now find ourselves in a world where, while we continue to extol the virtues of capitalism, we find much of our “capital” going to (or coming from) foreign nations. We no longer make many things of substance, our unionized workforce is below 12%, the middle class is shrinking, and anyone with something to sell finds that few on the home-front have available cash. Why? It might be because the financial sector has recently grown at an alarming rate as an economic substitute for manufacturing. Banks became too big to fail and enjoyed the luxury of a government bailout as they teetered on the ledge of insolvency. Now they can get almost interest-free money from the Federal Reserve and then immediately put it back into the government through the purchase of bonds. It’s a no-lose investment with guaranteed return. Why loan the same money to some business that may default?

American companies are behaving no better: they are currently sitting on roughly $2 trillion in cash. Why not invest this money into manufacturing, etc? Well, investment is occurring, but not within our borders. It’s just too expensive, you see, and what with the expectations of the shareholders, it makes more sense to build abroad.

The arguments above make perfect financial sense, but leave out the conscience that is most important if capitalism is to flourish once again. In the meantime, the middle class continues to whither from a lack of skilled positions available and the gap between haves and have-nots continues to widen. No longer are managers interested in long-term success for their company or their employees or their community. They are concerned with a bottom line that provides them with the opportunity of early retirement.

Some might argue that capitalism never had a conscience and never will (or should). And they might be spot-on. Maybe globalization has led us to our current malaise. As world economies settle to the lowest common denominator, it stands to reason that ours would suffer the most. If so, is there any reason to expect a return to our golden days?  

Our elected leaders continue to ramble on about job creation, but I’m hard pressed to see how any legislative effort can coerce the commercial world into doing something that seems to reduce their financial gain. Until they realize that there is more at stake than money, this sociopathic model of capitalism will continue to exist. Much to the detriment of those seeking what was once known as the American dream.