On the way to work this Friday morning I was listening to NPR. They broadcasted an interview conducted by host Renee Montagne with General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Mr. Immelt spoke at an economic forum in Montreal earlier in June. He is asking for the United States to increase its exports, especially in areas where there has been or there is a lot of potential for success. That’s great, I agree with him, but he also states that American companies and products have to be competitive in the countries they are being sold in. He often used China as an example.

I’m all for “Made in America”. There are American made products that can be competitive in China, but we have to remember that Chinese workers work for very little, long hours, and under conditions that will not be allowed in America. These and number of other factors, like unions, cost of living, health care, taxes, etc. are affecting the cost of manufacturing these “competitive” products for the Chinese market. Because of the labor laws, or lack there of, and inexpensive manufacturing cost so many products are made in China and so many American jobs are outsourced to that country and its serfs! What makes a big difference in why the more expensive American made products/exports will sell and succeed in foreign and overseas markets is quality. American made products are better made, they last longer, they perform better and they are more desired (when they can be afforded).

Immelt stated that GE makes large, commercial products in the United Stats, but only after working with the unions and negotiating costs. That’s nice, but just like in the video gaming industry, micro transactions make developers and publishers a lot of money. How does this apply here? Well, for starters small electronics products, like radios, clocks, TVs and so forth, need to be made in the US. All of this products sell in large numbers in the US, manufacturing them in this country will stimulate the job market. Stimulating the job market will in turn stimulates consumers wallets and bank accounts, which in turn will stimulate their spending. Yes, products might cost little bit more, but people can be proud when they buy them that they are made in the US, or that they were part of the designing, manufacturing or distribution processes. When consumers’ wallets and bank accounts are stimulated in the right way then their spending will stimulate the economy.

So Mr. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, I like what you are saying, but I also know that you are saying it for your company’s or employer’s benefit. After all you did state in the interview that GE conducts very large operations outside the US. But hear this, to stimulate the economy we need to stimulate the US resident’s wallets and bank accounts. The only way to do this is to stimulate the job market by returning outsourced jobs to the US and reopening factories. The “start up” costs will be high, but then again, all of these operations should have never been moved to other countries, like China, India and the Middle East, in the first place. When we did this, we  helped grow and stimulated other countries’ economies, while flushing ours down the drain. There are still number of companies in the United States who are still outsourcing or planning to outsource American citizens’ livelihood.

Return American jobs if you want to restore the US economy. Proper stimulation is needed to achieve proper culmination. People need to be be guaranteed a paycheck, not stimulated, because just like an orgasm a stimulus is short lived.

If you would like to read a synapses and listen to the interview please go to: GE Calls For More Exports To Aid Economy.