When Americans think about the
state of their economy, what they are doing is reflecting on their
personal economic conditions. For most citizens, the economy is their
pocketbooks and not the state of the nation’s purse. This is part of
what can be called "natural localism," the fact that almost everyone
concentrates their attention first and foremost on their local
environment. Americans are particularly prone to such myopia due to the
emphasis given to "me first" individualism by their culture.
Unfortunately, this orientation has proven increasingly harmful for
America’s national economy. The federal politicians are as "me first" as
their constituents and so no one seems to be able to manage the
nation’s money according to national needs. A good examination of this
was put forth by former Labor Secretary
Robert Reich on August 11, 2010.
With
the ghost of Dwight Eisenhower hovering in the background, Reich noted
that the U.S. now appears hopelessly devoted to maintaining the economic
activities of the military-industrial complex regardless of need,
efficiency, or cost. Why so? Because, he tells us, almost four million
Americans are directly employed by either the military or military
related companies and corporations. This makes the military-industrial
complex, "America’s biggest–and only major–job’s program." It also makes
the entire set up politically inviolable. The distortions that result
are labeled "nuts" by Reich. Here are some examples of them: