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I don't want to get into a long diatribe before I have to head into work, but in simplest terms, the reason the American economy is screwed up is because of our own values.
American companies (if there truly are any, anymore) only look at the bottom line, so they seek out the cheapest labor force possible. Hence, outsourcing. The American population further supports this because we would rather spend $1 on a foreign-made product than $2 on an American-made product (if you can find one), regardless of the quality.
We've also over-inflated our own wages in many areas, and much of that is due to unions. Now, 50 or more years ago, unions were important. Now there is overlap. We pay unions to do the same things that we pay the government to do. Guaranteed wages and benefits? Government regulated. Workplace safety? OSHA regulated. Especially in the case of American auto workers, if they want to know why the are out of a job, look no further than the UAW.
Now ultimately, in terms of misdirected values, we as a nation have a very big problem. We teach our kids that, in order to be respected, they can only work in a few, select positions. Otherwise, they'll never amount to anything. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. People forget that technicians and artisans are just as important. People forget that art and music are as important to society as science. And the most egregious problem that comes out of this is that our wages are, mostly, dictated by how highly our society ranks our position.
We get our heads straight, people might be surprised at how many of our problems just disappear.
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