There is only one issue, the economy

Published 12:05 pm Thursday, October 25, 2012

[NOTE: The editorial articles on the Opinion section do not necessarily represent the views of the News-Aegis staff. They are meant to offer views from all sides. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, feel free to email: editor@newsaegis.com]

Having been treated to an ever changing landscape of issues for the up coming election I am amazed with the lack of focus.  Many of these issues are truly important but, the pale when compared to importance of the economy.  

Our strength internationally depends not on our military but on how much military we can afford, train and deploy.   Our freedoms become somewhat meaningless if were are totally indebted to our government for the necessities of life.  What service our national healthcare system offers doesn’t matter if that service cannot be provided by the private sector.  

Our strength as a nation is built on the strength of our economy.  Ambitious people usually seek to align themselves with successful people, people with surplus resources.    Nations follow the same pattern in aligning themselves with partners that have the surplus resources to provide thru partnership to achieve national goals.  Today, we don’t have a surplus of anything other than political rhetoric.

Our military, often viewed as the most powerful in the world is comprised of equipment that has served well but is beginning to showing its age.  Our military is the smallest since WWII and there is a question if we can afford to maintain it.  The current administration seeks to further reduce the financial support for our military.

Our fleet of military aircraft may be the best in the world but the Russians and Chinese have aircraft that are beginning to challenge our superiority.  There are two new planes that are to be the our aviation strength of the future, the F22 and F35.  Both of these planes have been plagued by production delays, cost overruns and, development problems.  They now face a very uncertain future as our Congress must make some very difficult economic decisions to accommodate a strong defense and a huge national debt.  

There is only one solution to our economic problems, lean on the industrial base of our country.  Lean on them not by placing higher tax rates on their industry but by asking them to expand.  Expansion means more jobs, more tax payers.  Industrial expansion brings expansion of the support sectors of our country, transportation, sales, sales tax revenue.  Industrial expansion in the United Sates means expansion for the construction     segment of the economy. Industrial expansion leads directly to the expansion of applied technology.

The federal government holds the keys to the expansion of our economy.  One of the most critical segments of our economy that is almost totally controlled by government is the energy sector.  Our entire national energy supply chain is barely able to meet the national need.  Instead of a controlled expansion, a managed expansion of our energy industry our government has worked methodically to constrain, reduce the size and ability of the energy industries to meet the national need.  

If our Federal government adopts a national energy policy that states we as a nation will become energy independent, energy efficient, while reducing the economic impact of energy on our economy it would signal the beginning of economic revival in our country.  Expanding industry will provide not only jobs for those that are willing to work but revenues to support our defense and social programs.  Our national leaders must adopt policies that recognize economic reality.  The debt incurred by our country for social programs is a millstone around the neck of our economy.  There will always be a group of people that can make emotional arguments for the expansion of social programs.  Social programs must be paid for with currently available funds, not debt.  The most important national policy should be a policy of economic discipline.

Ed Tyler lives in Pell City. He may be reached at ed@edtylerinc.com