Our economy is a sieve!

Many people have a small garden in a window box or similar.  Imagine instead of a window box that you plant your garden in a sieve!

Every time you try to water the plants to encourage them, the water goes right through.  The plants don't benefit. 

The American economy is a sieve.  The govenment often spends money to encourage development of new technology and new industries.  If new jobs are the result of the effort, there is nothing to stop the jobs, once they get going, from being transferred to China.  The money has gone through the sieve without benefiting the economy.

Further, it is likely that China will steal the technology.   So in this further sense the money goes right though the sieve leaving no permanent benefit for our economy.

At one point in his presidency, George Bush issued a $600 check to every American (or maybe it was to every family), to improve morale and to get spending going.  If you looked at a collection of political cartoons at the time, every cartoon contained the same theme.  The man or woman of the house asks "Which economy are we helping?  China's economy or the American economy?"

Cartoons aside, I am sure that virtually all Americans, except of course the politicians, understood that the $600 checks would not accomplish anything, because of the sieve effect. 

The American sieve economy.  Money spent by the government goes right through the sieve to China, leaving no benefit for the American economy.

There is only one way to save the American economy, and that is to cut ties with China and other countries that don't buy from us in approximately equal amounts.

Goods on shelves in stores should be 95% American-made, not 95% foreign-made.

We have over 15 million people unemployed.  Some people say 25 million are unemployed or under-employed.  Our governments at all levels are drowning in debt.  How much more evidence do we need before we move ahead with forthright actions?  Tear up the trade arrangements, and put a tariff or foreign sales tax on goods from countries that are exploiting us, the most vicious and aggressive example being China.

No other policy, such as more infrastructure programs, or general fiscal or monetary actions, will work. These alternate policies simply delay the inevitable, namely tariff or foreign sales tax as described above.  And, during the delay period, our economy will further descend with additional millions unemployed.