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Health & Fitness

Economic Evolution: Darwin's Children

This economic overview and history lesson may be necessary before getting angry about the presidential runnings.

In nature, the parent species often destroys the child. That is, unless the offspring is able to adapt and evolve faster than the species that gave birth to them. Old will very grudgingly give way to the new, only with time and age. This cycle has been going on since the dawn of life on this planet.

 

So forgive me if I apply it to business and economics.

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I have been reading on the Patch the numerous comments on the political campaigns going on for the upcoming presidential elections. I feel it is not my job to take a side as a writer, as I would prefer to write about other subjects and allow people to make their own decisions. But I do choose to discuss our economic problems. Historically, economy has been based on the capability to industrialize. From the ancient civilizations like Rome to our sprawling metropolis populations today, three major factors have always helped decide the strength of a nation: Resources (Industrial Strength), Trade, and Man Power. As I have been reminded in the past, those three factors can be manipulated by the mind of a driven individual or individuals.

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Current Status: The U.S. Economy has been transforming into a service economy, outsourcing manufacturing while encouraging more educated minds that allow for advisory positions in corporations and private industries.  During this time, the government is larger and has many more departments that cover a variety of services for people- more than ever before. Consumerism has become an integral part of the economy, bypassing utilitarian practices and allowing for a separation of classes. Statistics show a dwindling middle class, while the wealthier class still contains a smaller percentage overall, holding a larger amount of income per year. The impoverished class continues to rely on government services more and more each year.

 

 

A few historical notes: The Roman Empire at the height of its power contained the largest sized government in the world, senate, military, and imperial palace taxing the common citizen into poverty simply to maintain the great city of Rome. They controlled trade routes throughout the known world, using their industrial powers to unify smaller countries.. During that time, Germanic barbaric tribes began to use their own resources: man power and heavily forested areas, to create fast moving military forces that finally brought the empire to its knees. The world was set back economically and scientifically by hundreds of years.

 

 

Historical Note: After WWI, Kaiser Germany was brought to its knees and stripped of its industrial zone in the Rhine. Handed over to the nation of France, the Rhine was not operated correctly, helping to precipitate the arrival of the Great Depression. A failed artist and former soldier in the German army, Adolf Hitler rose from the ashes of Kaiser Germany to take back the industrial zone of the Rhine, and then plunged the world into WWII, causing a massive industrial build-up and millions of deaths. One of Germany's most major defeats came at the hands of Russia, having outdated industrial facilities but sufficient man power to outlast the invading German forces until the winter. Across the world, Japan, seeking to improve its own economic and trade capabilities, attacked the United States and began fortifying islands in the Pacific, looking to use those islands to make a wealthier country. Soldiers died while a country sought for a better trading route and more resources

 

 

Historical Note: The American Civil War began with a disagreement over States' Rights, caused by threats to the southern economy, and later extended to slavery, as the North, better industrialized than the South, attacked the seceding states before they could use their trading capabilities to gather resources and man power from foreign countries and defend their lands. At the end of the war, the Federal Government became the strongest body in the U.S., uniting and spreading out the industrialization of the country, while racial issues would continue plaguing the American continent until today.

 

 

Today: The United States suffers from a high unemployment rate, struggling to decide on whether to bring back manufacturing or to down-size a large government in order to continue as a power in the world. Downsizing the government would limit the ability to help people in need while outsourcing our manufacturing would limit our ability to recover from any more economic downturns. Currently the United States has enough farmland to out produce many other nations in the world, although that farming is often exported. Rising cost of living rates are beginning to fragment the country of China, where the U.S. has outsourced most of its manufacturing and industrial jobs. One report shows that the next five years may have outsourcing more expensive than building in the country. Trade prices are also going up, while 8.2 percent of the economy is a sufficient percentage to bring the manufacturing state-side again, creating more jobs, but pressuring the government to contain pollution and create a more eco-friendly environment.

 

 

So my question is: Are we the parent species or Darwin's children? Are we going to evolve and find a way out of the mess, or are we going to succumb to another race or species, one that may have found a better answer? I'm not sure a presidential candidate can save us overnight, but I do believe we should take history into consideration while we make decisions.

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