Business

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Business

• The American Economic System

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The Foundation

• Adam Smith---The Wealth of Nations
• Trade is based on self-interest
• Laissez-faire---let the market follow its own
  rules
• Invisible hand controls the market to serve
  everybodys best interests
• Competition---the best product at the lowest
  price

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Leading Producer

• Worlds largest producer of manufactured goods
• Worlds leader in high technology and
  telecommunications
• Agriculturally self-sufficient and supplies 15
  of the worlds food needs
• Worlds largest importer exporter
• America faces competition from Japan and Europe

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Foreign Imports

• America imports more and more foreign goods
• Japanese cars---Honda, Mitsubishi, Lexus
• High technology---Europe, Japan South Korea
• Petroleum Gas---Middle East, Africa Latin
  America

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Recent Changes

• Manufactoring declines---outsourcing to Third
  World countries for cheap labor
• Service economy---hotels, restaurants,
  computers, telecommunications, media
• Huge deficit---government spends more than it
  collects in taxes
• Small corporations gain popularity

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Agriculture

• Used to be a small farmer nation
• Nowadays huge farming corporations---all
  mechanized, high production yields
• Overproduction---cant export everything, prices
  go down
• Only large farms can survive
• Family farming dies---high debts, low prices
  bankruptcy

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American Labor

• American unions not as strong as European unions
• No job security
• Little paid vacation or sick time
• No universal health insurance
• No worker identity---everybody wants to be
  middle-class
• Low-paid jobs outsourced

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