Automation is perhaps the most overhyped non-factor regarding employment in manufacturing. There has been very little job displacement in America in my lifetime that can be attributed to automation. The fact is machines need operators and they always will. If you're talking 100 years from now then maybe robots will be a major factor but in the next 30-50 years the expense of automated workers will not be feasible when labor is so cheap. The wave of automation actually ground to a near halt when American companies started going overseas for their manufacturing to avoid paying decent wages and being hampered by environmental laws. Worldwide pollution has probably tripled simply due to the unconscionable acts of these American companies, a debt our children will have to deal with financially and healthwise. People like Phil Knight are in fact some of the most evil humans on the planet, leaving a legacy of death and disease for future generations to come.
Again, I don't know where you get such a bad image of the typical American worker. You must live around a bunch of meth heads or something. In over 20 years of hiring and firing employees I never had to fire anyone for lack of production. Not once.
It seems like the government has done plenty to make the rich richer. Bank bailouts, agricultural subsidies and other corporate welfare have lined the pockets of a lucky few. Couldn't the government do something for folks who aren't on a senator's speed dial? Protecting the border is a start. Improving education would be a big help too.
I think another issue is many American's aren't taught the dignity of labor. Manual laborers are often looked down upon in our society. A lot of people have an attitude that they would rather leech off relatives and the government than get their hands dirty or wash dishes. My teachers often used the "you don't want to end up at McDonalds flippin' burgers" to motivate me in class. Yeah, these jobs suck but what happened to honor in putting in an honest day's work.
You'll get no argument from me that the practice of crony capitalism has been detrimental to our market based system. Too often, profits are privitized while losses are socialized, especially in banking. It needs to end. Your post reminded me of something else government can do, which is to re-enact the clause of Glass-Steagall that once again separates investment banking from commercial banking. Also, if a firm becomes "too big to fail", then it should be broken apart. Part of the capitalist cycle is the creative destruction that occurs from businesses failing and then parts of them rising from the ashes. Crony capitalism stops that natural process from occuring. Putting an end to crony capitalism will, by definition, help the little person by creating a truly level playing field.
