The stock market represents large, multinational corporations. LMC’s are all about stock value. Everything they do they do for stock value. Their products, services and even the long-term health of their companies have a low priority to short-term stock value.

Wealthy, insulated investors don’t worry if their companies or even if the country they live in fails—they have the means to just move on, like locusts. They used to invest here in the US and thus were a part of the economic cycle.

Then our brilliant Washington leaders, who look out for us, broke that cycle and struck a trade deal with Asian countries where we would give them unfettered access to our market and they would give us—well, nothing.

Oh yeah, I forgot, China promised to reform to democracy if we sent over all that nice capital and technology. Wasn’t that last Beijing May-Day parade just the nuts folks?

Cheap labor, pollution for everyone—of course investors flew over there—it made perfect sense.

But, here’s the thing: not everyone went to Asia. Huh, wha…? Who would be dumb enough to pass up that easy Asian money?

Who are these people? It was small to medium sized PRIVATELY held companies. How can they stay here in expensive old USA while the big guys “have to” go to Asia?

The answer is efficiency. Small companies do with less. Fewer people wear many hats and are therefore more productive. Their product designs are more streamlined and use the least labor. They automate. And – here’s a big surprise, many of these smaller companies pay better and have better benefits than the LMC’s.

Big companies tend to over hire and are top heavy. Many people each have a little piece of a big job—they are highly inefficient.

Guess what? When you are inefficient any cost savings looks significant. Asia isn’t all that competitive when you strip away the currency manipulation and the inherent inefficiency imported by the LMC’s.

What the US needs is investment in privately held companies, especially high-tech and manufactures. I guarantee you that these companies can compete globally.

Unfortunately, we gave all of our seed money to bail out big banks who aren’t loaning any of it out. If you give money to LMC’s they will just send it overseas.

Which is what we are doing…

So, we’re screwed.