Making It In America…

BY MICHAEL REISIG –

We’re all in such a huff here in America, everyone is struggling to find a job, or terrified they’ll lose one they have, or concerned they’ll lose the retirement benefits they worked (and paid into) for so long. We’re disappointed with the quality of the products we buy and the services we receive, and everything is shrinking in size, from a Mounds bar and a bag of coffee, to a roll of toilet paper. Prices on everything are just through the roof – a cup of coffee and a sweet roll will cost you $6 at any city bistro, and a breakfast biscuit at the local fast food chain is the better part of $4.

We all look at each other and reminisce about the good old days, when life seemed so much less complicated, when getting a job meant picking up the paper and deciding what seemed the best choice (rather than picking up the paper and seeing if there are any jobs advertised). But the truth is, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We’re all guilty of racing headlong into “the new age of better” without considering any of the ramifications of what better would cost.

Cars are no longer just vehicles but little spaceships, and it takes a rocket scientist to figure out how to use all the equipment on them. Personal electronics continue to become more and more baffling for the average adult. I got a new dish/cable service and it took me a week to figure out where the weather channel was (wedged in between the 40 or 50 pay per view sexual delight channels and unreal reality shows, and a handful of zombie and vampire networks).

Before we go to bed at night we set our Taiwanese alarm clocks and place our cell phones (made in Japan) on the night table. The first thing we do when we get up is start the coffee pot (that’s made in Hong Kong), and switch on the television (made in China) or maybe the computer (also made in the Far East). The pants or shirt we don has a 72 percent chance of being made in Singapore, Sir Lanka, or Mexico. The razor we shave with is probably made in Hong Kong.

The car we drive to the local unemployment office has a six out of 10 chance of being made overseas, the radio in it was probably made in India, the tires in Brazil, and the gas you put into it most likely comes from Saudi Arabia. And we wonder why it’s so hard to find a job in this country.

While we struggle with unionization of our major companies, which virtually allows unmotivated, uninterested, and often unqualified workers to keep their jobs forever, and businesses are forced to hire unqualified people because of insane politically correct policies, the rest of the world is requiring some responsibility and sacrifice from its workforce, making products at a price that simply can’t be duplicated in America (even after shipping them to us) – go figure on that.

In the meantime, we’re all so caught up in “the good life” syndrome, where every house has to have three televisions, everyone has to have a cell phone, and every child at the age of 15 has to have their own room, a car, a private music or dance teacher, and a collage of electronics, or life is simply not tolerable, that we have lost sight of the big picture. America is swelling up like a fart-filled balloon and when it bursts we may never get the smell of this debacle out of the sheets.

It would be a good start if we could just have a president that was made in America.

The views and opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the ownership and staff of The Polk County Pulse. Michael Reisig is a freelance writer and published author whose works are reproduced throughout the globe.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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