I love my Country!!!!!!!

The United States needs to practice what it preaches. History should have taught us that country building does not work. Has anyone noticed that just about every major oil producing country in the world, hate us. I am a Gulf War veteran, and I love my country, but I feel our government needs to take care of Americans first!! Our tax dollars are paying for this global policing, but the average U.S. citizen's standard of living is going down and the middle class is disappearing. Our jobs are disappearing to other countries.

My freinds father worked as a mold maker in a glass factory back in the 1970's and was making $18.00 an hour. The Glass Factory stated in 1983 that they could not compete with Glass factories in China and if the workers did not take a reduction in pay, the factory would move to China. Well, the owner of the factory basically broke the union and my friends Dad's hourly wage was decreased to $11.00 an hour. In the end of the 1980's my friend started to work at the same factory and doing the same job that his father had done, but he was only making $7.50 an hour for the same job. In the early 1990's The factory was closed and moved to China, and it almost destroyed the town. That factory had been in that city since 1840, and had been the main employer in the area for over 100 years.`

The point that I am making is that our standard of living is eroding away, and I do not see our tax dollars helping us out. Every year more and more families slip below the poverty line, but, I see our tax dollars going over sees, and paying countries to be our allies.

I love my country, and I would NEVER raise arms against my country!!!!!!!!! I just feel that Washington needs to look at home before they look overseas, when it comes to tax money. If our standard of living goes down, so does tax revenues.

[edit on 29-1-2008 by paladin1852]

[edit on 29-1-2008 by paladin1852]

reply to post by paladin1852


Hey Brother, I can see your point and I do feel that back here on US soil we have a lot of work that needs to be done, but I can't agree with you on a total level. As far as the war and the money we've spent there goes, hell yeah you're right; however, there are others in countries who desperately need some help.

BTW, there is a difference in loving your country and loving your gov't.

Thanks.

Hey Paladin,

I and, many people I know feel the same way.
Your example really hit home with me as I've been in various arms of the US glass industry for almost 30 years. My company (founded in 1883) is trying to sell our auto glass division right now. -That's sad all over.

The younger guys don't believe me when I tell them what factory jobs paid before the floodgates were opened to imports. And no, I don't think high blue collar wages ruined industry in our country. Heck, with the number of jobs cut from automation (not a bad thing imo), the labor cost per ton/unit of ______, has steadily gotten much better with no need of myopic greed. I know times change but, nobody likes to see them change for the worse.

If you don't mind saying, which plant did your friends dad work at?

reply to post by paladin1852


Thank you for your service!

Star and Flag.

reply to post by beezwaxes


Wheaton Glass, in New Jersey

reply to post by paladin1852


Thanks, I'm not familiar with that particular one. My company has had several with similar fates.

Great OP, most important issue, paladin

I don't have much to add 'cept that's thje way capitalism works ...and I always hated it.

I didn't know though, wages could be spiraled downwards like you describe.

All I can give you is this song by Bob Dylan (1983), one of the last truely political songs he wrote.

Union Sundown

Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore,
My flashlight's from Taiwan,
My tablecloth's from Malaysia,
My belt buckle's from the Amazon.
You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines
And the car I drive is a Chevrolet,
It was put together down in Argentina
By a guy makin' thirty cents a day.

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the U.S.A.
Sure was a good idea
'Til greed got in the way.

Our tax dollars are not paying for war, they are paying the international banks behind the Federal Reserve. The government uses the federal reserve to fabricate money for war separately. War is one of the few powers the feds have and it keeps the image in front of us that the "feds" are the most important part of government when really they are the least important. Big government, Big Business, Federal Reserve is fascism. Wars are a marketing gimmicks to create slave populations through debt. Wars have not been real for hundreds of years.