‘They’ are kicking our butts
They take our jobs. They take our top automaker status. Now they want to take our beer. Who’s “they” you ask? Well, in the case of American beer maker Anheuser-Busch, “they” happen to be a bunch of Dutch boys overseas. Literally.
Anheuser-Busch is the target of an unsolicited, foreign takeover by Belgium-based brewer InBev. The company’s notable brews include Stella Artois and Bass. Conversely, Anheuser-Busch has Budweiser and Michelob.
Those Belgian brands simply taste better. Just like Japanese cars are better buys than anything Detroit has to offer. Just like Swiss chocolate kicks Hershey’s tail all the way to Wonkaville.
And therein lies the real economic challenge facing the next president of the United States. How would Barack Obama or John McCain combat the neo-philosophy that says big business should downsize this, eliminate that, borrow funds or conduct some fiscal prestidigitation? Such philosophy is dangerous, yet it prevails in American boardrooms.
A few months back, I bellied up to the bar for beers with a fellow from the Federal Trade Commission returning from a conference in Japan. Frustrated, he sulked: “In America, the stock price goes up when a company closes plants and lays off workers,” he said. “But foreign countries strive to hire workers and open new plants. That’s their barometer of health.
“That,” he said before he took a final swig of his imported beer, “and the fact that they still believe in putting out a quality product.”
Now it’s not bad business to improve profit-margins via cost-cutting efforts. But something has to be done to stop the loss of American jobs to foreign countries. To have ample oversight in place to prevent shady borrow first, account for it later, shell game/spreadsheet practices.
There needs to be a leader of Rooseveltian mettle in the White House. Someone who isn’t afraid of partisan labels and will hang government regulation over the heads of American business execs like a Sword of Damocles. It’s time American businesses push back against “they.” Because “they” – with their superior products, stronger currency and higher profit margins — are kicking our economic butts from sea to shining sea.
J. Shawn Durham is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer.
