Where have the jobs gone?

All the potential presidential candidates are unanimous about one thing. They want to create jobs.

I want them to create jobs too because I need one.

However, they haven't heeded history, which is not unusual.

In the 1700's America was an agricultural nation growing food not only for our population but for those abroad who needed it.

Between 1820 and 1870 the Industrial Revolution brought manufacturing to the nation. We built things. We created things to build. We sold those items abroad.

In the 1980's the textile manufacturers sent their looms overseas so we no longer manufactured clothing.

With the advent of computers we started building them here at home. Now the parts are built in other countries and might be assembled in Mexico or the Philippines.

Then we became a service country, coming up with solutions to problems with the computers we used to build.

Now we're a country solely of consumers, manufacturing little, using much, demanding more and cheaper goods.

So we've gone from a country which could take care of itself to one dependent upon others.

Where are the jobs? We've outsourced them to China, Thailand, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam (I guess the war is officially over).

Which means we've contributed to the growth of the economies of the above countries while adding high paying jobs for them. Since we don't make anything here anymore the only growth in the economy comes from government jobs which has inflated the government bureaucracy and created jobs we don't need, many of which overlap those which already existed.

These presidential candidates wonder where the jobs went? They left the country because we didn't care enough to save them by giving manufacturers some incentive to stay in the U.S. or penalties if they left.

And, we as a people, are equally at fault for refusing to spend a few dollars more for products that are now made overseas.

So to the politicians who claim they will create jobs here at home and give no plan on how to do it I say, "save the taxpayer time and money. Drop out of the race now because you're all full of crap!