6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading, because of the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. But, you know, to me most of the current music is junk. Just my thoughts! I still am living in the "Rock and Roll" era, when music was good and the lyrics didn't have to be bleeped out all the time. And you know what, my kids and grandkids love most of the same music that I grew up enjoying. That would explain why over 40% of music sold today is probably from when I was a teenager.
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV, such as writing stories on blogs. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix. Now, the paragraph after the word Television was copied from an article that I was reading. I agree with part of it and disagree with other parts. I agree that most of the TV viewing is junk today. Where are all the good shows like Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Cheers, and all the other great sitcoms. I would rather, no I do, watch reruns of these shows instead of all the new reality shows. Who cares about Kim Ks.family! And I agree that cable rates are growing faster than the quality of the programing. But, for me to sit in front of my computer to watch a TV program or movie ....... You can't snuggle up with your wife or whoever on the sofa and watch a computer monitor. At least I don't want to.
8. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are memories. And, the older I get the harder it is to remember the memories. But, that's why I am writing all these stories, so I can read about them and know I was one lucky fellow!
9. The Deindustrialization Of America. The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America ... Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our second biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. And why is this happening. Everyone seems to have an answer, but evidently no one does. I wonder what my children and grandchildren will do in the future. Kind of scary, isn't it. Oh, for the good old times! I have listed 18 facts about the de-industrialization of America that are really frightening.
#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.
#2 Dell Inc., one of America’s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
#3 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States? Zero.
#4 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs next year.
#5 As of the end of July 2011, the U. S. Trade deficit with China has risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
#6 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
#7 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
#8 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
#9 Ford Motor Company recently closesd factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 800 good paying middle class jobs are lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.
#10 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#11 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
#12 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#13 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#14 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#15 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
#16 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States.
#17 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#18 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.
Do you buy American whenever you can? Do you own an American car? An American made TV or computer (is there one you can buy?). I know, everyone has opinions about our problems, but it is still scary. Be nice if we could do something about it. I recently saw on TV that they built a house somewhere that contained only items made in the USA. Found out that it was only 1% more in cost than if they had used imported products. So there, you can buy American and only have to pay approximately 1% more for the product. I look for better times to come, but then I'm an optimist. How about you! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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