There was a time in this country when Americans had brand loyalty. We paid a bit more for something because we knew it was of good quality, and we could trust the company that made it. It was a time when you could make a good a enough wage that you could pursue the american dream. You could own a home, the wife could stay home and raise the kids. You could plan for your retirement. What happened?

At some point the shift went from quality to least expensive. Our loyalty went from the trusted brands to the low cost big box store. At the time it seemed like a good idea.  Wow, look at all the stuff I can buy! and it’s so cheap I can just throw it away when I’m done with it, or it breaks which probably comes first. But what is the cost of all this cheap stuff? How does it get so cheap. Well the answer is that it is not cheap. We buy this stuff form other countries where wages are lower. And it’s inexpensive since shipping costs have been so low. To compete, other manufacturers have had to move overseas. Slowly our domestic jobs have been leaving the country. We are at a point when we have everything we could ever want, at a price we can afford, except for one problem.  Wages have gone down, and unemployment has gone up. So we can’t afford it anymore.

But how do we actually pay for it? All the cheap energy is paid for by the environment. That is a whole other story.  The price pressures have shifted jobs overseas. The jobs that remain keep making less money. But people still need enough to live on. Where does it come from? The person living on minimum wage probably gets food stamps, and uses the emergency room when ever they need medical help. who pays for that? We don’t even think about the tip that we leave for our servers, but without it they would be living on minimum wage. Every one of the government assistance programs for people living below the line, is a shifted cost from cheap stuff. We are still paying for it, just not directly. There is a tax deduction for teachers that buy there own supplies. Another way to shift the cost from the school system to the federal government. And when I say federal government I means us! Every one of these assistance programs is the price of cheap stuff. So the truth is that it is not so cheap, the price being the american standard of living. But how do we correct it? It’s not going to happen overnight….

It’s starting to correct itself…. a bit. The cost of energy is driving up shipping costs. Globalization takes away from security. Like when the tsunami hit japan and it shut down domestic businesses, or the current standoff in the gulf that may drive up petroleum prices again. Customer satisfaction goes down when you have to talk to a call center in Mumbai. These forces as well as national security are starting to bring jobs back to the US. The next problem is wages. Business complains that they can’t afford to pay more than a minimum wage. But the cost of minimum wage is shouldered by the taxpayer. Every benefit that minimum wage earners need to survive is a hidden cost. The minimum wage should start to rise with the cost of living, plus some percentage, till it reaches a living wage. Businesses will say that it will make there products more expensive. But that will put the burden on the buyer of the product not the taxpayer. Big business should be paying higher taxes on profits that are not plowed back in the business. We should be using the tax system to influence the kind of behavior we are looking for. Corporate taxes should be high with deductions for improved efficiency, cleaning up emissions, improving the work environment, or even providing healthcare for it’s workers. Happy worker are productive ones. And when they can afford the products they produce our world will be a better place.