Addendum to America In Decline

My conservatives friends and relatives who have read galley proofs of America In Decline are of a single mind. They are confounded by some of my recommendations for righting our floundering ship of state which, to them, at best smack of socialism and, at worst, pure unadulterated fascism or communism. One reviewer went so far as to remark that "Carl Marks would be very proud of your latest rendition of his Communist Manifesto." I understand these criticisms and take them very seriously. I am now in my 78th year and, in my view, am becoming increasingly more conservative with each passing day. However, having said this, we are now living in a twenty-first century world that is much different than it was when I entered this world in 1936. Pure capitalism was king in those days, and rightly so. It is hard to argue that these United States would have become the economic juggernaut it was in twentieth century were it not for the liberties granted to us in the constitution and our capitalist way of doing things. In my opinion, the concept of equal opportunity for all to become the best they possibly can be, which is one of the foundation blocks of capitalism, is largely responsible for the successes we American's have achieved since the nation's founding 238 years ago. Unfortunately, over time, equality of opportunity has morphed into, and become badly confused with, the socialist concept of equal outcome for all. While it is true, as the socialist are wont to remind us every minute of every day, it is the height of unfairness that some people are born smarter than their fellows while others enter this world dumber than a box of rocks. Fairness, or lack of same, however, is not the issue that should concern us. Everywhere you look in our imperfect world unfairness abounds, the question is how do we best deal with the cards that are dealt to us. In days long past, when anyone capable of performing manual labor could find employment that paid enough to support a family, innate intelligence was far less important than it is in today's world of high technology. Nowdays successful people are paid for their intellect not for their ability to swing a hammer or shovel dirt. As I harp on incessantly in this book, the socioeconomic problems our nation faces today are worsening by the day because the mean IQ of the nation is falling one to one and a half points each generation. As a result, less intelligent members of our society will find it increasingly more difficult to find meaningful employment with each passing year. There is no magic bullet that will magically increase the mean IQ of our nation any time soon. There are ways to smarten up our population, as I have discussed at some length in previous chapters; however, in the short run, we must play the cards that we have been dealt and face up to fact that the principals of pure capitalism will not be enough to dig ourselves out of the deep hole into which the liberal have throw us. The key to the nations survival as a viable economic force is simple and straight forward, we must put our people back to work! For this to happen we must provide them with jobs that pay a decent living wage and force those who are able bodied to take the jobs that are made available to them. As discussed a length above, bringing back manufacturing jobs from abroad and curtailing illegal immigration are two important keys to the social and economic revitalization of our nation. Unfortunately, at this point in time, a fair amount of social engineering will be necessary to achieve these goals. Some of these measures, including the stiffening of import tariffs on goods that are now manufactured in third world countries; some degree income redistribution; and the implementation of a livable minimum wage for intellectually challenged people who are trying to raise a family will, admittedly, be difficult for conservatives to accept. However, what are the alternatives? Unless we are willing pay a fair price for manufactured goods like tennis shoes or commodities like lettuce or string beans, can we expect that they will be produced by American workers? If not, where will the tens of millions of intellectually challenged people, who are not destined to be employed in high tech jobs, find employment? If we do not put such people back to work at meaningful jobs, is it not likely that they will turn to lives of crime or, worse yet, life-long government dependency? It seems to me that our governmental policies must reflect, rather than ignore, the realities of the changing demographics of the world in which we live. If, in some instances, governmental policies that smack of socialism and isolationism are necessary to bring about meaningful social change then we conservatives must grit our teeth and accept those realities, at least until we can right pour floundering ship of state. I will be the first to abandon the socialistic measures I reluctantly suggest in this book if someone can come up with better solutions so the socioeconomic problems we face. So far, no one has done so and, if we continue down the present path of increasing governmental dependency, we are domed, sooner rather than later, to become a socialist wasteland like Greece. That, of course, is simply unacceptable! For those who have not read The Bell Curve, and believe that we are all born with we are all born with essentially equal IQs, the answer is to expand programs like head start which are designed to level the playing field for the disadvantaged. Those of us who believe that there is a significant genetic basis for intelligence should focus on governmental programs that, over time, will increase the mean IQ of our citizens by, among other things, reducing the birth rates in low IQ women and eliminating the immigration of low IQ Mexicans into our country. Yes, some of these policies will smack of socialism but, none the less, they are necessary Perhaps the biggest criticism of America In Decline pertains to my suggestions that, at least on the near term, trade policies which snack of isolationism and tax policies which, to some degree, redistribute the nation's wealth, will have to be implemented so that people with low IQs can make enough money working at low skill jobs to support a family. Again, governmental policies such as these are socialistic and, as such, repugnant to the vast majority of conservatives, including me. However, at this point in time, given the hand we have been dealt, I fail to see a viable alternative to the changes in social policies that I suggest in America In Decline. To continue down the road we are now headed is, as I've said repeatedly, simply unacceptable.