The United States is Being Bled: How Long Until We Bleed Out?

January 10, 2019

America is being bled and it has been happening for decades. Every day and dollar by dollar, this country is being bled of its financial resources and much more. We are being bled by our friends, our enemies, and everyone in between. Our elected officials, unelected bureaucrats, citizens and non-citizens, large corporations, and even our trading partners are taking advantage of this country. How long before America suffers “death by a thousand cuts?”

The Chinese have been bleeding the US for years. They have been stealing from the US and US companies and continue to do so. The worst part is that our elected officials and the leaders of these companies knew this was going on and chose to do nothing. The Chinese have stolen copyrighted entertainment products, such as movies, TV programing, sports programing, and video games. It’s surprising to me, since the Chinese are not paying royalties to anyone on these products, that the Hollywood elites have not been up in arms about this. After all, they are artists and they deserve to be paid the royalties for their artistic creativity. American companies that have facilities located in China have been subjected to forced transfer of patents and other valuable intellectual property.  

The Chinese have also not given the US free and fair access to its markets. Chinese exports into the US in 2017 were $510B. Conversely, US exports into China were only $135B for the same period. One reason for this is that tariffs imposed by China on US exports into their country are much higher than on Chinese exports into the US. This is called protectionism. Unfair trade policies, such as these, greatly impede free and fair trade between the two countries. Additionally, the Chinese government subsidizes selected industries, such as steel manufacturers. This, in addition to manipulating the value of their currency, gives them an unfair pricing advantage over their international competitors. 

In response to China’s unwillingness to negotiate a free and fair-trade agreement with the US, President Trump has raised tariffs on tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese exports into the US. The President’s strategy was a means to an end. First, he wanted to get their attention and secondly, he wanted to get them to the negotiating table. Without negotiations there would be no change to the one-sided trade relationships that we have with just about everybody. We have recently concluded new trade deals with South Korea, Mexico and Canada, but we still have a long way to go before we reach free and fair-trade agreements with all our trading partners. The blame for these unequitable trade deals lies not with our trading partners, but with those who negotiated on our behalf. The blame also lies with the politicians that approved these deals.

Tariffs add cost to the products we import. Higher cost means that we will probably buy less of those products. If the ultimate consumer buys less, the US as a whole will import less. This means less sales for China or any of our other trading partners. This is our leverage. For example, China’s exports to US account for a full 5% of their total GNP. That is a significant amount which means that this dispute will hurt them more than it hurts us. You probably will never hear this from the mainstream media (MSM), but it’s true.  

We are currently in a cooling off period with the Chinese. This temporary lifting of tariffs will continue until March of 2019. At that point we will either have a deal, continue negotiations, or reimpose the tariffs. China exports four times the amount of product to the US as the US exports to China. This gives us the stronger hand.

There are specific businesses in our country that are bearing the brunt of these trade disputes. I can only say that our trading partners have been ripping our country off for years. We can continue on with the status quo or we can fight back. Next time it may be some other industry that takes the hit. As painful as these situations are for specific segments of the private sector, it is in the best long-term interest of the country to stand firm and work towards a better deal.

I first heard about this next issue regarding trade with China several months ago. I was able to get the name and location of this US company just a few days ago. The name of the company is Charlotte Pipe and Foundry which is located in Charlotte, NC. It was reported that China opened its own company in China and stole the name and logo of this company and is selling the same products here in the US under that name. According to the owner of the American company, the Chinese are selling similar products, which are of a substandard quality, at substantially reduced prices. Obviously, this should not be allowed to happen. I’m not a lawyer so I am unable to say whether or not anything can be done legally. If this is allowed to stand, what’s to stop them from opening companies named AT&T or IBM? This is just another reason why we need an airtight agreement with the Chinese. If we are unable to reach such an agreement, then it may be time to cut off all trade with the Chinese. There are other countries that would welcome the opportunity for increased trade with the US and we would be foolish not to take advantage of that.

There are currently hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese operatives in the US. Many of them obtained student visas and came here to attend school. Upon graduation, some were hired by American companies, got work permits, and stayed in the US. Some of these young graduates went to work for American tech companies. Like any other employees, over time they went up the ladder and were given more responsibility and more access to sensitive proprietary information. In some cases, this information was stolen and made its way to China. Some of these operatives have been arrested while boarding planes back to China with this sensitive information in their possession.

The Chinese government is expanding its influence in the world financially and militarily. By purchasing $510B a year of Chinese exports, the US is actually helping to fund their expansion. The Chinese are not our friends. They will lie, cheat, and steal, or do whatever else is necessary to reach their goal of global supremacy. Playing by accepted international rules is not in their playbook unless it suits their purpose. A portion of every dollar that China makes off of trade with the US and their investments here in the US goes towards improving and expanding their military. Based on that and their goal of global supremacy, it would be in our best interest to cut off trade relations with China. Why would we want to make our enemy stronger by enriching them? Eventually, we will have to choose between national security and cheap products made in China.

The US is also being bled by our friends. Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and our allies in the Western Pacific have all become friendly foes, at least as far as trade is concerned. We recently concluded new trade agreements with Canada and Mexico (the new NAFTA), and also with South Korea. These agreements now need only be approved by the Senate.

We are left with the European Union and our trading partners in the Western Pacific. The US is an equal opportunity trader. We let everyone eat our lunch. The problem with these countries is the same as it is with China. Tariffs on our products going into their countries are higher than the tariffs on their products coming into the US. Most of these countries are military allies so there is no concern about enriching our enemies. It would be nice, however, if an agreement could be reached allowing for free and fair trade that would be mutually beneficial to all of the concerned parties.

The US maintains a large military presence in both Europe and in the Western Pacific.  Our presence includes multiple bases in multiple countries and multiple branches of our military. Although the main reason for our military presence in these areas is to protect our allies, it also serves as a deterrent for any aggression towards the US. To my knowledge the US does not charge for this service. The least these countries can do in return for this service is open up their markets to us on a free and fair basis, as we do for them.

Our policy of protecting our allies in Europe and in the Western Pacific is costing the US taxpayers tens of billions of dollars per year. The question that comes to mind is, “Do we really have a choice?” The short answer is no. Our presence is required. Without our military in these areas, these countries would eventually be taken over (the domino effect) by either Russia or China.

The problem of illegal immigration has been with us for years. If the latest estimates are accurate, there are now twenty to thirty million illegals currently in the US. Previously, the most widely accepted number of illegals in the country was eleven million. The actual number is probably around twenty million.

If you listen to the liberal narrative these people are all here for a better life. This is true for about 95% of illegals. It’s the other 5% that concerns me. These are the drug smugglers, murderers, rapists, and gang members. They’re here for a better life too. What better place to come than to America? The immigration crisis would be a lot easier for the American public to swallow if these people weren’t committing crimes. There were 266,000 violent crimes committed in Texas in the last two years (source: ICE).

The United States, like every other country in the world, has laws. We are obligated to follow each and every one. Even if you are unaware that you have broken the law, you will still be held accountable. It seems that in the last several years, Americans, as arrogant as some of us are, have chosen to pick and choose which laws we are going to obey and which laws we will choose to ignore. It seems that illegals have decided to do the same thing. With that in mind, we may all have to resort to carrying sidearms to protect ourselves.

In addition to breaking laws and killing Americans, there is also a financial cost of allowing all these illegals into our country. It is estimated by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) that the cost to state and federal taxpayers, after taking into account the taxes paid by illegals, is $115B per year. This is not a current estimate. It is quite likely that this number has increased with the recent influx of migrants. The US is not the world’s Welfare Society. We give more aid and assistance to the rest of the world than any other country. In the opinion of some, it’s not enough and it never will be. I’m sure that there are numerous other ways to spend this money. For example, this money could go to thousands of homeless vets and other humanitarian causes for our citizens.

Border wall, West Bank

In addition to the money spent by the federal and the state governments to support these illegals, our federal government sends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to Central American countries such as Honduras and Guatemala. The theoretical purpose of sending foreign aid to these countries is to try to improve the living standards of their citizens. This plan is obviously not working. I would strongly suggest that a significant part of that money is winding up in the pockets of the corrupt government officials in those countries. This particular example of the bleeding of America is on our elected members of Congress. Some of these officials feel that “something” has to be done. They are unable to figure out just what exactly “something” is, so they throw money at the problem and then walk away. It costs the taxpayers of this country roughly $5B a year to fund Congress. I don’t think we’re getting our money’s worth. 

We are losing hundreds of Americans a week to illegal immigrants. Some are overdosing from the illegal narcotics being smuggled over the border, and others are being outright murdered. All these dead Americans are being sacrificed for a lousy $25B, which our government spends in two days.

There shouldn’t even be an argument about this. Barack Obama voted for wall funding in 2006. Hillary Clinton did the same in 2009. Chuck Schumer along with other Democrats in the Senate also voted for wall funding. Now all we get are hollow excuses and BS. The only difference between then and now is Donald Trump and more dead Americans. 

Democrats have been bleeding our country for years. Out-of-control spending is the problem, not the tax cuts. Tax revenue actually increased between FY 2017 and FY 2018 by over 6% in spite of the tax cuts. People on the Left argue that tax cuts create deficits. This is blatantly false. There are numerous examples that bear this out. Tax cuts stimulate economic growth and create jobs which in turn generates more government revenue.

The problem of budget deficits is a disturbing trend. Deficit spending has now become a way of life for our government. We are now looking at trillion-dollar deficits, year after year, as far as the eye can see. Our government deficit spends for two main reasons. The first is that cutting entitlements, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of our federal budget, is completely taboo. The category of entitlements includes items such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The main recipients of benefits are retired people. Retired people vote. Any elected official who would vote to cut these benefits or even propose cutting these benefits would probably be voted out of office.

Another way that politicians bleed our country, especially on the Democrat side, is by promising “free stuff” to their constituents in the hopes of buying their votes to get elected or reelected. There are several new programs that are currently being proposed by candidates from the Democrat Party. The two new giveaways that are receiving the most press are Medicare for All and free tuition at all public colleges and universities. The cost to the American taxpayer for these two new entitlements will be approximately $3.3T per year. The fact that the country can’t afford to pay for this “free stuff” is a secondary consideration. As usual, staying in office is the primary concern of our elected officials. The final reason for this constant bleeding of America is that there are a lot of people in this country who think the US government has unlimited resources. Anyone with even a modicum of common sense should know that if this were so, our country wouldn’t be $22T in debt. As time goes on and the debt become larger, and interest on that debt grows, this problem will become unmanageable. This bleeding of America by—or with the approval of—our elected officials will eventually lead to our undoing.

Our elected leaders are running this country into the ground. Medicare is already in negative cash flow and Social Security is not far behind. Unless Congress acts to control the growth of these programs, and other entitlements as well, these funds will eventually have to be subsidized. At that point look for higher deficits and a much higher national debt, which will result in ever-increasing interest expense on the debt. Since any additional interest expense will have to be borrowed, the problem will only get worse. This is one expense that the government has absolutely no control over. The higher our debt, the higher the interest on that debt.

In addition to our financial resources being bled, America is also being bled of its children. Their bodies are being poisoned by the tons of illegal narcotics that are smuggled into our country every year. In addition to that, their minds are also being poisoned. From the first day of kindergarten, all the way through post-secondary school, our children are being indoctrinated. Some people would call it brainwashed.

There is an organization called “The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.” They conducted a survey on American attitudes towards socialism. What the results showed was that 44% of millennials would like to live in a socialist or a communist society. It gets worse. Also according to this survey, most millennials don’t understand what a socialist or a communist system is or how it works.

Another conclusion from this survey was that 50% of these same millennials think that a capitalist system is unfair and that wealthy Americans are not paying their “fair share” of income taxes. These people obviously don’t know that the top 1% of earners in this country pay 40% of the income taxes. They are also unaware that the top 50% of earners pay 97% of the income taxes. For those of you who are mathematically challenged, this means that the bottom 50% of earners in the country pay only 3% of the income taxes paid to the federal government. Really? How much is enough? Socialism rewards indolence and punishes hard work. That’s not the way America is supposed to work.

It was further determined by this survey that millennials were unaware that communist dictators, such as Josef Stalin and others, were responsible for the deaths of well over a hundred million people. It is estimated that Stalin was responsible for an estimated sixty million deaths. Finishing in second place was the illustrious fearless leader Mao Ze Dong. It is estimated that Chairman Mao murdered roughly 45 million. Our third-place finisher is the charming and gracious Furhrer, Adolf Hitler (yes, he was a socialist too). Mr. Hitler was responsible for deaths of approximately 20 million people. There have been numerous other mass murderers of note including, but not limited to, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and of course, the first family of mass murder, the Kim family of North Korea. The number of people murdered by this last group of communist leaders I was unable to find. These mass murderers were communists or socialists, every one of them.

The conclusions that I am able to glean from all this information is that millennials, the largest voting age group in the country, were indoctrinated throughout their time in public school and beyond. As shown by the survey cited above, they are quite uninformed regarding the detrimental effects of socialism and communism on society.

Millennials, please go back one hundred years to the Bolsheviks Revolution and find one successful socialist or communist country from then until now. (Hint: Sweden and Denmark are not socialist countries.)

Finally, I have some good news to share. This is about a situation where the massive bleeding of America was stopped before it began. It was estimated that US involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement would have cost the American taxpayer as much as $3T. The revenue needed to fund this generosity would be raised by imposing a carbon tax on America. President Trump has called this deal a disaster. I call it the largest scam ever attempted on the government of the US. This agreement was a thinly veiled attempt to redistribute money from the so-called wealthy industrial countries to the poorer emerging countries.

The purpose of transferring this wealth to these poorer countries was to finance the building of new electrical grids from the ground up. These new electrical grids would be powered exclusively, or almost exclusively by renewable energy sources. Although the goals of this plan were well-intentioned, the playing field, as usual, was tilted against the United States.

For example, according to this agreement, the US in addition to contributing $3T US taxpayer dollars to the cause of saving the planet, the US would also be required to set goals lowering greenhouse gas emissions and meet those goals. The US has steadily lowered its greenhouse gas emissions since 2008 and continues to do so. The other three largest polluters in the world—China, Russia, and India—are responsible for roughly 40% of the world’s pollution. These countries would not have to set or meet any goals until 2030 and they would also not have to contribute any funds towards the new electrical grids for the underdeveloped countries referred to above. If lowering greenhouse gases and saving the planet were the primary concern, it would seem to me that these other three large polluters should also be lowering their greenhouse gases. Not only are these countries not lowering their emissions, they are actually allowed to increase them until 2030.

Whenever there is a “crisis” in the world, it’s the US that is either to blame or is asked to foot the bill. The US and many other industrialized countries are in debt, and that debt is growing. It’s no surprise that 195 countries signed on to this agreement. A good many of these countries would have been on the receiving end of this money. Whether or not that was the primary motivator in signing the agreement I am unable to say, but it was certainly a factor.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said during an interview, and I’m paraphrasing, “No matter what the US does, it will not be enough to counter what the other major polluters of the world do not do.. Senator Kerry pretty much nailed it. We need a better deal and a deal that would put an equal amount of responsibility on the other three large polluters on the planet. The US should not be expected to bear the brunt of paying for this plan, and unilaterally lowering its greenhouse gas emissions.

There are other ways to increase the standard of living and build new electric grids for these emerging countries. One example of this is giving incentives to big business to open facilities in these countries. As part of moving into these countries, they could help finance the building of these electrical grids. I have personal knowledge of one Fortune 100 company who, in the last several years, has opened facilities in Mexico City, Costa Rica, Brazil, and China. These facilities create jobs and generate tax revenue for the host governments. That tax revenue will help to improve the standard of living in those countries.

It’s time for the bleeding of America to end. It’s been going on for decades and has cost this country hundreds of billions of dollars, if not more. Our trading agreements with just about all of our trading partners were slanted in their favor. I put the blame for this on the unelected bureaucrats who negotiated these deals and the elected officials who approved them. This is especially true where China is concerned. The unfair tariffs, the lack of open markets, and the outright theft of intellectual property are just some of the issues that need to be addressed. The forced transfer of technology and patents from American companies located in China also needs to be addressed. As a result of these unfair trade practices, the US has been drained of tens of billions of dollars per year. Our elected officials were aware of these one-sided trade agreements and did nothing until Donald Trump became president.

Our elected officials have bled this country to the point where we are now $22T in debt. The problem of overspending, mostly in the area of entitlements has to be stopped. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), government giveaways like Obamacare wound up costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars more than was originally projected. The actual cost of the plan could be double the projected cost over ten years. 

There used to be a term in Congress called, “pork barrel spending.” It was also known as, “ear mark spending.” This was money that congressmen and senators would get Congress to approve for the benefit of the voters in their congressional district or in their state as a whole. This was also known as “bringing home the bacon.” This was business as usual for many years in Congress and still probably goes on, but to a lesser extent. This is another example of bleeding America.

We have let millions upon millions of illegals into our country. It is estimated that the cost to the American taxpayer is roughly $115B per year. Other estimates range as high as $700B per year. Here again our politicians are not solving the problem. The border is wide open, the two sides can’t agree on a solution, and the American taxpayer is getting stuck with the bill as usual.

Finally, the bodies of our children are being poisoned from the drugs that are being smuggled over our southern border, and their minds are poisoned by the people we entrust to educate them. The media and most of the entertainment industry are pushing the narrative that living under a socialist economic system would be preferable to living under a capitalist economic system. My response to that is simply this: I can only say that I don’t see any of these elitist entertainers moving to Cuba, Venezuela, Communist China, or the People’s Paradise of North Korea. I wonder why that is.

The bleeding of America is costing us dearly. We are running our country into the ground. In the not too distant future our debt will become unmanageable. We need to elect people who are willing to take on the issues that face this country head on. This is especially true when speaking of the problem we have with overspending. The people we elect have to deal with this problem without regard to political risk. I don’t know where the point of no return is, but I do know that we need to deal with this problem and deal with it soon.