Productivity

      Two measures of a country’s productivity are the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gross National Product (GNP).  They both measure the value of goods and services produced.  The GDP counts all goods and services produced in the United States including those procuced by foreign individuals and companies, but nothing that id produced outside the country.  The GNP counts goods and services produced by only Americans and American owned companies anywhere in the world.  This is sometimes referred to as Gross National Income (GNI).

The difference between Gross National Product and the Gross Domestic Product may be significant and relevant. The United States estimated the GNP at $16.455 trillion and the GDP at $16.768 trillion in 2014.  This means foreign owned companies produced $313 billion more goods and services in the United States than American owned companies produced out of the country. 

Does this mean American companies should have more overseas production or that Americans should own more of the companies operating in this country?  That is a question that is beyond my area of expertise, BUT if we don’t reform and lower our corporate tax structure, we will have more and more American companies moving their headquarters out of the country.  That will have catastrophic consequences for our country.

Some economists used to predict that government debt was not a problem until it exceeded the GNP or GDP.  The debt then could create serious problems.  News flash, the national debt has exceeded $18 trillion.  We have exceeded that limit and better wake up.

If we are going to restore the American Dream, we need American entrepreneurs to produce products and provide services.  We need government to get out of the way.  I recently heard that six of the ten wealthiest counties in this country were in the Washington DC area.  How can this be?  Washington DC produces nothing.  The only thing they do is what some people call “legalized larceny” in order to redistribute wealth.

Many years ago I attended a Governor’s meeting on international trade.  Only about one hundred people attended, but several manufacturing companies in the state, and representatives from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were represented.  There were some very interesting speakers on import/export and international law. I was fortunate to have some representative from Asia at the table in front of me so I could overhear them.

I found some of their comments very interesting.  They did not understand why the United States gave medical doctors and attorneys such high social and economic status.  These professions were vital in their country, but they considered them to be in a service category.  They place the international traders and heads of industry at the top of the social and economic status.  They also found it interesting that many American companies only planned twelve months in advance.  They planned for decades in the future.

If we are going to restore the American dream for future generations, we better get our priorities right and get the Federal Government out of the way.