The US has a policy for everything, drugs, terror, on and on, but we seem to have missed the boat on a substantial industrial policy.

Let usa look at some of the things happening in our country today according to Harry Tarq in “Dairy Of A Heartland Radical”:

-For most workers, including the college educated, real wages today are lower than they were in the 1970s.

-Rates of unemployment have grown over the years, doubling between 1999 and 2009. Unemployment rates are a third higher for African Americans and Latinos.

-There has been a sea change in employment as manufacturing labor has dipped below 15 percent of the work force. The sectors with most employment growth include health care, fast food, hotel work, and transportation. Generally higher paying manufacturing work is being replaced by low wage service labor.

-During the last forty years most manufacturing jobs have been transferred to other countries where wages are low, the right to form unions is limited, and costs for health and retirement benefits are minimum.

-There has been a qualitative shift in investment to financial speculation and away from manufacturing.

-Meanwhile, worker productivity in the United States has increased.

One kind of industrial policy that would be appropriate for the twenty-first century is the green jobs agenda. This approach would combine our massive environmental and job needs. To use an historical analogy, to save the lives of millions of Americans, a New Deal green jobs agenda must become part of our future.

Our industrial base is shrinking daily…..and we do not seem to have a grasp on how to get it up and running again.  Our manufacturing has taken a backseat to financial poker game and we, the people, are losing everything because the economic theives are “all in”  with our future.

Many analyst say the the use of “green technology” is the way of the future and that if handled properly could re-invent our industrial base.

Green jobs could be a saving grace, but I am not too optimistic on that for the future…..why?……right now they are en vogue, but will that continue when a new admin takes the reins in Washington?  Many good programs have died at the hands of well intended administrations, i.e.  energy policies of Carter….if they had been followed it is possible that we would not be addressing some of the global warming issues we face today….