Corporate America - The Enemy Within - How Big Business and Big Banks brought down the U.S.A.

Sept. 16, 2010 - PRLog -- 1941 to 1945 - World War II

U.S.A. backs China

During World War II (1941-1942) President Franklin D. Roosevelt (by either executive order, or an wink and a nod) approved 99 American pilots to be discharged from the U.S. armed services to volunteer as "mercenaries" to fight for the Chinese. America provided these fighter pilots with Curtiss P-40 fighter airplanes and the squad (AVG) was known as the "Flying Tigers". The aircraft were painted with a large shark face on the front. This group of volunteers had been created to help defend China against Japanese imperialism. These American pilots were paid $675 a month (almost $10,000 a month in today's dollars...enough to buy a new Ford sedan at that time). Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was but one of these notable pilots, and was discharged from the AVG in 1942 to return to active duty with the U.S. He went on to command the "Black Sheep" Squadron and was awarded the Medal of Honor.

China backs North Korea

In 1945, following the surrender of Japan, American administrators divided the Korean peninsula along the 38th Parallel, with United States troops occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern part. By 1948, North Korea became a Communist government, and South Korea became a democratic government. On 27 June 1950, two days after North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea, and three months before the Chinese entered the war, President Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait, to protect the Nationalist Republic of China (Taiwan) from the People's Republic of China (PRC).

China backs North Vietnam

During World War II, Vietnam was a French colony under Japanese occupation. Soon after Japan surrendered in 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) was proclaimed in Hanoi. Ho Chí Minh became head of this government in the north; and France accepted Ho's government in March 1946, but at the same time set up a puppet government for the South in Saigon. Ho led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954. The U.S. then entered into and fought a ten year war with North Vietnam (and the Chinese). After 1973 when the last U.S. troops left, and after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the former capital of South Vietnam was renamed Ho Chí Minh City in his honor.

* U.S. Trade Deficit with China

* American companies benefiting from outsourcing to China

* Skilled Labor Bases in China and India Ready to Work

America in Decline

If the U.S. can not produced more skilled people, and will no longer manufacture domestically because of cheaper labor overseas, and rely solely on a service economy, it will continue its decline. If America's government continues to allow the importing of foreign-made goods for its citizens to buy - cheaper goods made overseas (increasing the trade deficit); and allowing the Chinese to remain on par with the U.S. dollar, America will continue its decline.

China: Friend or Foe?

China has recently surpassed Japan as the world's second largest economy...and at the present rate, might also surpass the United States, and become #1.

China is suspected of, or has "unofficially" been known to have, engaged in cyber attacks (hacking) against U.S. corporate, government, and military computer networks...possibly gaining military and trade secrets, and even possibly engaging in industrial and military sabotage.

China is NOT our friend, and never was since 1949 and the rise of the Communist leader Chairman Mao, yet American-based corporations still continue to send American jobs to China for company profits, further eroding our industrial manufacturing base, infrastructure, and domestic economy.

During World War II America converted it's industrial manufacturing might to produce war materials and win the war. If a similar war were to happen today, how could America convert a McDonald's drive-thru fast-food restaurant into a factory for building tanks and airplanes? Auto companies such as GM can't even produce a good reliable car anymore.

Is this the reason why there has been such a disparity between American CEO salaries and domestic worker's wages since the 1970's? The CEOs have been financially rewarded for destroying the country (via the economy), and at the same time, putting more burden on American workers with added taxes to give the CEO's better tax breaks. When did a CEO actually create a job for an American worker if they thought it would be less expensive to pay someone else in Mexico, India, Taiwan, South Korea, South Vietnam, or China?

Now we can't even get China, who is on the United Nations Security Counsel, to impose meaningful sanctions on a renegade nation like Iran, to keep them from building and exporting nuclear bombs...all because American corporations wanted ever more profits - and because American CEO's thought they deserved Lear jets.

Does anybody recall all the recent bailouts, and the HUGE bonuses and salaries we've been paying these people?

GM's First Bail Out

Before the outbreak of World War II General Motors produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft...for both Allied and Axis customers. By the spring of 1939, the German Government had assumed day-to-day control of American owned factories in Germany, but decided against nationalizing them. During the war, the U.S. auto companies continued to be concerned Nazi Germany would nationalize American-owned factories.

While General Motors has claimed its German (Opel) operations were outside its control during World War II, this assertion appears to be contradicted by available evidence. General Motors was not just a car company that happened to have factories in Germany; GM management from the top down had extensive connections with the Nazi Party.

During the war years GM declared it had abandoned its Nazi subsidiary, and took a complete tax write-off because of which they have received tax reduction of "approximately $22.7 million" or about $285 billion in 21st-century money (Their FIRST bail out). After the war GM collected some $33 million in "war reparations" because the Allies had bombed its German facilities for which they have earlier declared complete tax write-off and received tax reduction.

Conclusion

In 2008 the average hard-working middle-class American people were forced to bail out GM with taxpayer-paid income taxes...AGAIN! Remember the private jets flown to the D.C. congressional hearings? Are the CEO's really good American citizens, or like China, are they our enemies?

The corporate CEOs (and other wealthy U.S. citizens such as banking executives at Goldman Sachs, career politicians in Congress, and commentators like Glenn Beck) has some nerve to accuse average middle-class working American citizens of engaging in "class warfare" when we argue against extending tax breaks for the filthy rich. Especially since it was the American corporations who first declared war on the U.S. middle-class worker-citizens decades ago.

In 1908 General Motors (GM) was founded as a holding company and made the Buick "Model F" that was built in Flint, Michigan. Now GM employs approximately 266,000 people around the world, manufacturing cars and trucks in 35 OTHER countries. Yes, American taxpayers bailed out foreign workers too.

"Made in America" is no longer GM's or corporate America's boast, now it's "Show me the money!" - - - but let's give all those patriotic CEOs another raise, and give them another tax break too...we can afford it, right?

Meanwhile, the U-6 unemployment rate in America is now at 16.7% and doesn't look like it will get much better anytime soon. But in China they're striking for higher wages.

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