Caring about people in other countries is a luxury CEOS who have outsourced the jobs of people in their own country and bleeding heart liberals who feel pain everytime they see a Sally Struthers commercial for aid to Africa.

I am neither and a nationalist first when it comes to economic policy. So long as there are homeless and unemployed worthy of a job here in the US, then to hell with another in China who would gladly take their or my job.

I can agree with this. However, the way to get people to work in America is to make the jobs 'cheaper'. That is, take away the atrocious tax system that works against hiring people in America. For example, Obamacare means that I, as a business owner, have to pay more money in tax compliances to hire people in the US. When I hire in the US, I have to spend a ton of money in both time (which costs me money) and taxes to keep that person. If we reduced the burden to business when they hire, no one would be unemployed. Not unless they didn't want to work.

You are referring to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 between the US and Europe. Funny thing is, the stock market collapse of 1929 came first. Saying Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 caused the Great Depression is akin to blaming TARP and Obama's stimulus as the reason for this current global recession.

The stock market crash came on the day that they started debating Smoot-Hawley....Some say as a result of them actually deciding to take up debate on the atrocious act. Furthermore, the stock market crash did not cause the massive unemployment and financial woes associated with the Great Depression. The great depression was fueled by 2 things: Bank collapses due to the federal reserve, and Smoot-Hawley killing jobs.

The truth is more in the middle, where the economy of the 2000s was structurally weak with a real estate bubble coinciding with an earlier dot com bubble all under the watch of an Ayn Rand fanatic at the head of the Federal Reserve by the name of Alan Greenspan.

The woes of the 2000s were not caused by Mr. Greenspan. Furthermore, I would say that the scum called Bernake is 10x worse. Don't get me wrong, I dislike Greenspan as I believe the federal reserve has far too much power, but he wasn't the culprit so much as other government programs like CRA1999.

Here is what I see as the structural problems in the US economy:

1. Higher Education insensitive and detached from the private sector putting out too many liberal arts majors to become baristas at Starbucks, while what we really need are more engineers, scientists, urban planners, health managers, and on.

2. The largest segment of the US population (Baby Boomers) aging and retiring imposing a huge entitlement burden on Social Security, public employees pensions and Medicare.

3. Federal and State governments running up deficits to pay for insolvent entitlement programs (Social Security, public employee pensions, and Medicare).

4. Overreach of US foreign policy. We have too many troops engaged in wars that do not directly benefit US citizens. Instead they are fighting for abstract causes such as "freedom and liberty," all the while costing hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

5. Lack of a broad skilled, blue collar worker base. Since the 1980s and particularly since NAFTA in 1996, we have been transitioning into service sector economy where the bulk of jobs are in the low wage service sector who service the upper income, so-called "creative class," leading to a hollowing out of the middle class.

Generally agree. The only thing I would critique is that its not the private sector's fault for most of the woes you mention. The majority - wars, outsourcing, entitlement programs, ect, are all from and by the government. If you wanted to create a better workforce, I'd start with offering vouchers to every child to go to the school of their choice. Better schools would be created that had a better focus on core skills that result in a population better attuned for things like maths and sciences....As opposed to the garbage we have today. School standards are abysmal in the US - ask any European that comes here on a student exchange program.

I think I have the bases covered except for a few wonky monetary aspects.

Who has more to gain from funding a military that protects America's oil and trade interests?  The poor or the rich?

Who has more to gain from funding roads and bridges to ensure the safe delivery of goods across the country?  The poor or the rich?

Who has more to gain from funding education and health care so they can have an educated healthy pool of workers to hire from?  The poor or the rich?

Who has more to gain from funding the bailout?  The poor or the rich assholes on Wall Street that got us into this mess?

etc. etc. etc.

Rich people get more out of America (or any stable government and economy for that matter), so they should put more back in.

 Also I think the rich should be taxed more. They are gaining more from your society so they should give more back.

Except for the fact that people who have millions of dollars tend not to pay income tax at all

You wanna make society more class-based than it is now? This is how.

Well, with your school remark, the people that get the most out of school are actually the people that strive to get the most out of it.  It is one's own fault if they did not try in school and could not do something as simple as getting at least semi-decent grades (C's and better).  I have to laugh, there was a kid in my high school wanted me to help him with math, because he has lots of trouble on it.  I decided, sure, I'll do a good thing.  Next day, he's texting in class.  No more tutoring him by me.

Well, with your school remark, the people that get the most out of school are actually the people that strive to get the most out of it.  It is one's own fault if they did not try in school and could not do something as simple as getting at least semi-decent grades (C's and better).  I have to laugh, there was a kid in my high school wanted me to help him with math, because he has lots of trouble on it.  I decided, sure, I'll do a good thing.  Next day, he's texting in class.  No more tutoring him by me.

Yes, certainly, most of those problems in the US are created by government policy and government workers.  But the voters select the elected officials so they have some blame in this.  The way the average American voter votes, it's like they don't want to live in a better world.  They are likely just ignorant of reality.