America Still is Great, No Matter What the Politicians Say

There has been considerable campaign rhetoric the last year about how candidates for President are going to make American great once again.  I am very sorry to say, that I must have missed the announcement about Americas failure to be great.

Here is why America is great:

We are still a very economically free society.  According to the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, the US is the 5th most economically free country behind Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland and Australia.  Not bad out of almost 160 countries.  So why are we 5th? It appears we have more political corruption, restrictions on trade, and too many subsidies to get ahead of the other four.  In short, politicians are making the situation worse but we are still doing quite well.

Index of Economic Freedom

The US still has free elections where every citizen has the same vote.  We have good Rule of Law where government cannot arbitrarily change laws, people are treated fairly in the Court System (although the out comes may not always be fair), and no one person is below or above the law.  The US exports more goods and services than any other country in the World, including China.  We are the most productive country in the world as we have increased our manufacturing output while at the same time employing fewer people in manufacturing (about 12% of today's workforce).  This means rising wages and lower costs for everyone.

As for wages, US Census data show that real family wages have risen from an average of about $48K in 1970 to about $70K in 2005 (all adjusted for inflation).  In families where one spouse does not work, the averages wages have gone from $47k to $64K since 1970.  All the talk about stagnant wage growth is hogwash.  

Not only have wages grown, but the costs of many items have actually dropped due to global trade.  Yes we do not make TVs in the US any longer, but we can get a cheaper set with a bigger picture, more features, and flat screen imported from Asia.  We send them airplanes, Harleys, life-saving medicines and Hollywood movies.

Our military is the strongest force the world has ever seen.  The beautiful thing about our military is this force is used for good, not for imperial aspirations as many believe.   As Colin Powell so eloquently said "all we ask for is some land to bury the dead."  We have saved Europe (twice), defeated communism, and disposed a brutal Middle East Dictators and have asked for nothing in return.

We have the third largest population in the world and people are thrilled about the opportunity to come to this country.  It is the land of opportunity where anyone can start with little or nothing and turn it into a great fortune.  We need people, even people that may not speak the same language or look like we do.  This is one of the key factors in our future prosperity.

Is America perfect?  No it is not.  However, it is better than anywhere else on earth.  So stop listening to politicians talk about Hope, Change, and a New Tomorrow.   What we have now is the highest standard of living in the World and a country that has not fought a war on our own land in nearly 150 years.  America still is Great.