Pinheads or Patriots — You Decide

On the Bill O'Reilly show he has a regular segment called "Pinhead or Patriot." He focuses on the behavior of someone, and tells his viewers, they should decide if that person is a "Pinhead" or "Patriot."

The current mantra concerning our economy is jobs, jobs and jobs...at both the state and federal level.

There are too many folks without jobs, or in jobs that do not pay a sustainable wage, or jobs that are below their skill and earnings level.

They say that a rising tide rises up all boats — and our current ebbing tide of jobs, has put our economy in a perilous position. As the current situation continues, even those who should be pretty much immune to dips in the economy, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc, are seeing their earning levels and job opportunities dwindling.

With the declining tax revenue, school districts, municipalities and all other forms or taxing bodies, are having a hard time balancing their budgets. There has even arisen a "mob" mentality, ready to lynch public workers, and teachers especially, for what others consider as excessive pay and benefits (when folks have no jobs, or only have the options of low paying jobs, anybody else who is doing better could be considered to be enjoying excess!)

So just how do we create more jobs?

Should we depend upon Governor Walker or President Obama, or the Congress or the Legislature to pass some magic legislation that will create jobs? In actuality, they have much less impact than most of us believe, in creating jobs, especially in the short term.

No, it is the American people who can create jobs in America!

When Americans buy products that are made here — their friends, neighbors and family have growing job opportunities, they make more money, and they spend more money, and the tide raises up everybody's boat.

I would think that on the Northshore of Milwaukee, especially, with all its astute business executives, smart scholars, wise lawyers and highly trained doctors, they would get it and help the economy and thereby help themselves.

In comparison, on the south side of Milwaukee, in the mainly Hispanic areas, it may be reasonable to assume that struggling workers, and many folks new to this country, would not understand this underlying economic principle that when you buy what is made here, the economy and your life here, is going to be much better.

What got me to thinking about this was one of my shopping trips to the El Rey grocery store on 16th, just south of National Avenue. They have about the best butcher department in the city, with a huge selection and very reasonable prices.

On my last trip there, I happened to notice that almost all the vehicles in this Mexican grocery were made in America, and predominantly UAW made. And, they were not just cheap used cars; many of them were high-end vehicles, including a lot of very expensive SUVS.

By contrast, I checked out the cars in the parking lot at Pick 'n Save in Shorewood. And it seemed the vast majority of cars were foreign, either made overseas, or in low-wage, non-unions shops in so called "right to work" southern states.

So...should we call one group "Pinheads," and the other group "Patriots?" If so, which is which.

And as the Hispanic population matures, will it also learn the "American" way of buying foreign cars, which put folks out of work, or under employ them?

Oh, and how many executives and business owners at companies here in the Milwaukee area drive the BMWs, Mercedes, Jaguars, Nissans and Lexus? They are the very ones we are looking to for improving our economy, so why are the private golf course parking lots filled with foreign cars, which do not support our own economy?