Teenage Unemployment The Worst Since WWII

The June 2005, unemployment report was another depressing sign of America in a state of economic decline. Rather than proving a recession, the jobs data proves the premise of America as a superpower in decline.

One depressing figure was teenage unemployment at 68%, the worst since WWII. With only 32% of American teenagers with jobs, few will be able to earn money or save for college this summer. And equally depressing is that many of these jobs are now being taken by older workers in their 40's, 50's or even 60's, as the American high paying jobs in the manufacturing base dry up.

One sided trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA and WTO steadily erode the American manufacturing base as more and more high paying American factory jobs leave America for good, and are taken up in labor cheap nations such as China with 24to 40 cent an hour wages.

American industry is down to only two automobile manufacturers, down from six in the 1960's. And many major American automobile components such as engines are now manufactured in places like Mexico with $1.50 an hour labor, so the average American automobile is only that in name only.

In the 1960's, many American television set manufacturers existed including Zenith, RCA, GE, Magnavox, Quasar, Philco(Ford), and few small brands. Today none exist as an American owned brand. All TVs sold in America are foreign manufacturer owned and produced.

In the 1960's to 1990's many American textile companies existed. Today virtually all are gone, with most textile production in China or other labor cheap states.

A top Chinese official a few days ago proclaimed that "America has no business in the agriculture business". Provisions in CAFTA and an agressive new plan by China will soon target American agriculture, and both China and Central America will attempt to destroy this American bread basket industry and make American farming a thing of the past. Soon store shelves will be filled with Chinese and Central American agriculture products with only a few locally grown organic agriculture products a novelty in specialty produce stores.

The current Whitehouse has failed to veto even a single spending bill, and continues to rack up huge budget deficits. Banks in Japan, South Korea and even China continue to buy billions in bonds to finance the American government and to keep America solvent and from bankruptcy and economic collapse.

With the current G8 Summit, Russia attended this conference simply because they possess 20,000 nuclear warheads, far more than America and the entire world combined. Only in terms of this military power is Russia a superpower. There is no comparable economic and manufacturing base power to back up this military strength. In the same way, the U.S. is fast becoming a similar state. A huge military that defines the U.S. as a superpower, while America has a fast declining manufacturing base, as many world economies surge, especially in Asia.

The June jobs report had little good news. Black unemployment in excess of 10%, as high paying urban factory jobs disappear to China, and push Black families away from home ownership, consumer strength, and the ability to better their children by sending them to college. And only 140,000 jobs overall were created in June. A depressing figure when 200,000 were expected, and at least 150,000 jobs are needed to keep even with American population growth which nears 300 million.

For all intents and purposes, the June jobs report was a portrait of America as a declining world power. America is not in a recession, but in a decline as a world empire. Any genuine patriot should be concerned about this decline. America cannot become like Russia, only defining world strength in terms of a strong military, but even that is question as insurgents in Iraq keep America from full victory with extremely low tech warfare. America is simply not strong enough to defeat insurgents who are mostly illiterate, poorly equipped, yet manage to use simple items like garage door opener remotes to set off homemade roadside bombs.

The challenge for Americans is to demand more jobs stay in America. To challenge politicians who support one-sided trade agreements that export jobs in mass quantity to labor cheap nations to benefit a few corporate leaders, but destroy the American standard of living for most.

Most major world powers only last about 200 years. America celebrated it's 229th birthday on July 4th. America is living on borrowed time without a sincere change in direction. God bless America and preserve her.