At Least the Protectionists Have A Catchy Theme Song - Mad in America

While I disagree with protectionists, I have to admit they have a pretty cool theme song - Mad In America.

With unintended irony, the lyrics by the band ETx, describe an immigrant from Finland - a hard working, low wage baker - coming to America in the early 20th century; moving to find a low skill job. Two generations later his descendants are helpless as the jobs move instead of the person; to lower wage workers in China and India.

Lacking an understanding of how competitive advantages must be upgraded over time with more education, constant innovation and personal creativity, the song simply laments reality - that ideas, jobs and capital are mobile.

What many Americans fail to recall is the United States was where people and jobs moved to in the 19th and 20th centuries. We were the cheap laborers with the strong work ethic, the desire for a better life for our children, the commitment to building schools for compulsory education.

Listen to Mad In America

The 21st century demands that America adapt or decline. In the new millennium, we need to up our game - raise our standards of education, invest in advanced R&D and teach our children to be more entrepreneurial. We can't "protect" our way to prosperity. For the 21st century, it is Bob Dylan's lyrics that should guide us:

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Comments

[Justin in CT]

Bob,

Before you go toting a song as a 'theme song' you should probably listen to the ENTIRE song and catch it's full meaning not just the words of one verse. It's rather funny how you have twisted it to match your views.

The verse you refer to was meant to show how while the immigrants were a large part of the workforce during that era, if not for unions stepping in on their behalf, they would have been exploited as cheap labor, much as offshoring is doing now.

If you listen to the remainder of the song, it centers more around the problem with the America corporate philosophy of 'cheaper now means more money'. Large corporations and small alike are taking jobs which many Americans need and sending them overseas to other countries such as India and China because the labor over there is so much cheaper than it is here. While it is cheaper now, what they are not seeing is the domino effect this will have on our economy. Our country survives on a simple premise: People in this country are employed to make products and provide services, this allows them to take 'excess' money and spend it on other companies products and services, which in turn continues this cycle. In addition, the government taxes wages on both sides through income and export taxes, which in turn gives our government the money it needs to build the countries infrastructure. You take away the jobs, you take away the 'excess' income, and reduce the amount of money available to the government. This causes fear amongst the population which results in further declines in spending. Of course you should be able to see the cyclic decline now.

Immigrants with H1B's who are being retained to replace American workers is a problem. People who want to come work in America should obtain a green card and be a full time citizen, not a part time one. Companies need to realize that while they might be able to make more money by slashing overhead through outsourcing to other nations, this will come back on them as the American economy emplodes on itself through a lack of spending due too so many people being laid off as a result directly of their actions.

I am all for helping other countries that need it, but you cannot neglect the citizens of your own country and it's needs to do it. Until we get our people back to work and our economy straight, we should not be sending jobs Americans could be doing overseas.

This song is an anthem to that, not a 'theme song' to support Protectionists. And to be honest, I don't think the author of the song intended for it to be an anthem, but more a protest song.