(Part IV of a Series on the American Economy)

T his is the fourth installment of a series on the American economy. As this writer has repeated in Part III, the American economy is not as bad as some detractors of President George W. Bush had been claiming. If blame is to be the topic, the Democratic-controlled Congress has to share the responsibility for failing to come up with more economic stimuli, aside from the $600-per-taxpayer economic boost of a legislation that President Bush proposed. But in the final analysis, both the members of Congress and the President cannot really create jobs. The private sector, as led by American captains of industry, is the engine that can boost or cut down employment.

One of our contributors, Ray Villar of Chicago, sent in these comments: "John McCain was correct in his assessment that the 'economy is fundamentally strong.' Because the economies of the world – the Philippines included – are tied up or connected to the U.S. economy.  The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are the strong political system and stable government, which by the way is composed of Federal and State Governments.  Notice that even if the major financial institutions go under, the government (or other players from the same affected industry or related industries) could come to the rescue. The Average Joe can understand Mr. McCain's logic, except Senator Obama who is in denial and keeps on blaming President Bush (for the sad state of the American economy).”

Mr. Villar also sent in this media advisory from www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com:
         “On July 16, 2008, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced S. 3268 - the Stop Excessive Speculation Act. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Charles Schumer (D-NY) co-sponsored the bill. The bill is a good first step towards ensuring that formerly ‘dark’ over-the-counter markets will now be required to do business in the sunshine and to ensure that no one entity unduly controls the market.

"The bill creates a much needed distinction between legitimate hedgers and those who are in the market for purely speculative purposes, ensuring that traders who have no relationship to the physical product are unable to take advantage of existing loopholes. Specifically, the bill would close the ‘Foreign Board of Trade’ or ‘London Loophole’ by requiring transparency and limits similar to those required for trading on U.S. exchanges.”

Unfortunately, the Senator Reid bill is almost two years late. We should remember that the Democratic Party captured the majority of the U.S. Congress in the 2006 elections.

Mr. Villar may not win the Nobel Prize for Economics but his views on the American economy make sense. He suggests that the McCain-Palin team work hard to bring back to this country the jobs that were outsourced by greedy companies. The McCain Administration (if Senator McCain is elected) must provide incentive to companies that will bring back those manufacturing jobs in the textiles industry that went to China and Korea. It should also revisit the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Mr. Villar points out also that the Iraq War actually is being waged to protect Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (and the other moderate Arab governments plus Israel, of course) and he suggests that the new Administration must make it a point that these countries should buy more American-made products to reduce (the American) trade deficit, if not bankroll the war against the terrorists now operating in Iraq. He suggests also that China must be pressured to reduce their trade surplus against the United States for if the American economy fails, the Chinese lose their biggest market in the world.

“The economy is the most-important issue in this campaign,” Mr. Villar adds.  But even Senator McCain fails to mention and much-more address the issues stated in the preceding six paragraphs. And to complete his informal presentation on Economics 101, Mr. Villar advocates a retraining program, especially for the welfare recipients.  He says that so many women, especially from the ranks of the minorities, are “baby factories.”  He says that the government must first run after the fathers of those kids born out of wedlock to support their children.”

There are many voters who are like Mr. Villar and they point out the fallacies in the economic proposals of Senator Obama, who has been simply arguing for more government control and supervision of Wall Street and Corporate America. The Democrats, who are principally liberal in orientation and policy, want the government to give more public benefits and services pursuant to their tax-and-spend agenda and socialized platforms of government and economics.

Editor’s Note: To read the first three installments of this series,

please click on the following links:

American Economy Not As Bad as It Looks: U.S. Congress Must Share Blame, If Any, with President Bush  (Part III)

For All Its Ills, Warts and All, the United States Is Still the Engine that Drives the World Economy (Part II)

The United States, Unlike the Philippines, Will Never Become an “IOUgoslavia” (Part I)