Why are we losing American Jobs to Overseas Markets? 

As American industries continue the search for higher profits, they quickly come to the conclusion that higher profits can only be found by cutting costs. The cost of American labor is not cheap. And labor costs are the easiest way to reduce the overall cost of doing business. Of course they would prefer to increase their profits through higher sales but in the competitive world we live in today that is not always possible.

Labor overseas is very cheap. In many instances, factories will transfer their facilities to foreign countries to reduce their cost of labor. Or they will out-source their labor to these countries when their product or service can be produced at off-sight facilities and then shipped back to America at a cheaper cost than can be done locally.

So how do we stop this from happening? Can our government do anything to prevent this activity or to create a more conducive environment for our industries so they don’t have to out-source our jobs?

As the world market becomes more competitive and as third world nations become players in our world economy, pressure is exerted on our business communities to produce more at a lower price. Given the current cost of materials and labor, this is sometimes a daunting task.

Labor unions add to this problem. Their purpose is to protect the labor force by forcing the management of our businesses to give our workings a good wage and a good working environment. Surely, we want our workers to benefit from their hard work, to work in safe places, have good medical insurance and to be able to provide for a good living for their families. But all this adds to the cost of doing business. Can our workers accept less – yes they can. And they should where possible. Some of our workers, especially upper management, are paid salaries that some may consider to be obscene. But first we should try our best to think of other means to change the system so our workers can continue to live and work as they do now.

The answer to this difficult problem lies not in our labor force or our ability to produce good products and services but rather in our ability to produce the raw materials that are used in this process and the energy required to operate or industries.

Our government should classify all the industries that produce raw materials as "source suppliers". These suppliers should be given tax breaks that must be passed on to their customers in the form of lower prices which will reduce the cost of production for them.

The cost of energy is the biggest expense outside of labor that factories must pay to operate. We have for too long ignored the nuclear generated power that can be created from nuclear power plants. There is a way to make them safe and we must refocus our efforts in doing so.

Nuclear fusion and fission, the wind, the sun, the ocean waves and bio-fuels are also very promising experiments in producing endless amounts of cheap and renewable energy. Our government should subsidize these efforts so as to bring them to fruition as soon as possible.

Once we get our energy needs under control and no longer need to import it from foreign countries, the cost of producing goods and services will be greatly reduced. Our businesses will continue to be competitive on the global world market while making reasonable profits. At the same time, our labor forces can remain here in our country.

Cheap Energy and Raw Materials = American Jobs!