Americans were once again witness to another round of stimulus talk as the President spoke to the nation last week in his jobs package promotional speech.  Those that argue this package is more of the same have every right to do so.  This package sidesteps the President’s elected responsibility to govern this nation and instead offers the President a pro-reelection financial boost.  This is unacceptable.

The root of our economic troubles is primarily related to our trade deficit and the failed trade policies that have allowed other countries to prey on our wealth.  The graph below, which can be clicked on to view a larger image, basically tells the whole story.

While many Republicans, and even some Democrats, acknowledge that there is no money to pay for President Obama’s new jobs package, then why do they not acknowledge we can no longer afford hundreds of billions of American dollars a year flowing out of our country and into foreign businesses?

Just prior to our economic downturn we saw four years of near record trade deficits.  For each of these years the trade deficit was $700,000,000,000 or more.  That’s seven hundred billion dollars each year times four years.  This equals $2,800,000,000,000 or two trillion and eight hundred billion dollars combined.  Keep in mind that in the years before and after this period we also experienced large trade deficits.

It stands to reason that you can’t just let someone take close to three trillion dollars out of the economy and expect it to be healthy.  This is why, as voters, we need to ask ourselves just how serious either political party is in their efforts to create jobs.  While these politicians bicker about President Obama’s five hundred billion dollar jobs package, our trade policies are letting trillions of dollars leave the country to benefit foreign corporation that employ their own citizens.  Where are the priorities of our elected officials?

Sadly, few politicians are talking about our trade policies.  The exception is the President, who wants to forge new trade agreements with South Korea and other nations that will harm our economy even more.  Thankfully some within the Democrat Party are outspoken against inking new trade agreements.  And let’s face it, our track record on past trade agreements is not too good.

Real and permanent job creation begins with keeping American dollars right here at home.  Economists say that consumer spending accounts 70% of the economic activity in our country.  The key to job creation is getting these consumers to spend their money on American made goods and not the majority of foreign made products that fill most store shelves these days.

If you feel strongly that our trade deficit is a major factor in our economic crisis, as I do, I would urge you to contact all of your representatives and let them know that current free trade agreements need to be altered in such a way that they contain an equalizing mechanism to prevent further harmful trade deficits in the future.  And by all means, please let your representatives know that entering into any new trade pacts should not occur until older agreements have been modified.

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