The Decline of U.S. Dominance--Part I
The United States is still the dominant force in profit, productivity, creativity, and technology, but the rest of the world is catching up fast. We have had it all our way for the last 100 years. We have grown fat, lazy, and arrogant. Our position as the world leader is slipping every day. We are getting more and more in debt; this is true not only for the U.S. government, but also for every one of us. People want more of what they have little need for. As a result, credit card debt per capita has reached an all-time high. Overexpenditures in the housing market have caused a worldwide banking problem, and large numbers of people are being put out of their homes because they can’t make their mortgage payments. We have become a post- industrial society that specializes in consumption and leisure.
More and more people around the world don’t like “the ugly American,” even if he or she has a fistful of money. I travel around the world, and the opinion about U.S. citizens, U.S. products, and the United States itself is declining fast. It seems that the only successful U.S. products are McDonald’s, SUBWAY, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola. China, India, Korea, and Taiwan are producing the products that people are buying, even if those products have a U.S.-brand name on it. No worker from a rich country can equal the effort and energy of someone trying to move out of poverty. There is a direct correlation between the last time a person went hungry and their work ethic. This means that we have to put forth a considerable effort if we are going to remain the world leader. We can buy many things, but we can’t buy friendship, trust, and goodwill.
We are not really scared enough to make the changes that we need to make. There is much discussion among corporate executives, writers, and intellectuals on the situation, but the average U.S. citizen couldn’t care less and has been kept in the dark about the seriousness of the effect on our living standards if we slip backwards. Some Middle East countries have stopped accepting the dollar in payment for oil, requiring that they be paid in euros. Many other countries have better health care systems than we do and are able to cover their entire populations at just half of the cost that we are paying. We are paying 15 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) into the health care system. Most of the industrial nations, and a good part of the other nations, have better cell phone systems and better, less expensive broadband than we do. London is replacing New York as the world’s financial capital.
The United States still has the largest economy of any single country in the world, but many countries are catching up. If things don’t change by 2045, China will replace the United States as the world’s largest economy.
Here is a listing of the status of GDP growth rates as of 2006:
1. China 8.0%
2. India 6.4%
3. Russia 5.5%
4. South Korea 5.2%
5. Taiwan 4.3%
6. Hong Kong 4.0%
7. United States 3.6%
8. Brazil 3.5%
9. Mexico 3.3%
10. Canada 3.3%
How do we make the turnaround? How do we get back on track? I wish I had the right answer. I guess we need to get back to the basics that made us great in the first place:
• High family values
• Hard work
• Pride in what we do
• Excellent technical education
The real heart of the United States’ success in the past was a high degree of dedication to the family. That has eroded as the chances of a marriage lasting for a lifetime have dropped to 50 percent. Too many fathers have no commitment to their children, much less to the women who created those children. Too many women are too busy with their careers and housework to have time for their children. Too many children spend more time watching TV and playing computer games than with their parents and siblings. Family dinners, when everyone sat down together to talk and share ideas and experiences, are a thing of the past. The home is just a hotel where people come to sleep and take a bath. Parents don’t have time for the children so they try to buy their love, and it doesn’t work. It is time that we start to work to improve the quality of family relationships and our home life. If we can’t have a quality, well-managed personal life, how can we expect to have the ability to succeed in business? If you can’t manage your home life effectively, how you can you hope to manage a business?
H. James Harrington is CEO of the Harrington Institute Inc. and chairman of the board of e-TQM College Advisory Board. Harrington is a past president of ASQ and IAQ. He has more than 55 years of experience as a quality professional and is the author of 33 books. Visit his web site at www.harrington-institute.com.
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