By Eric L. Frazier, MBA
“I didn’t grow up thinking about trade deficits or multinational corporations. I grew up understanding hard work—and later, the hard truth that even hard work isn’t enough without opportunity.” 💼
I dropped out of college after two years and got married at 19. I entered adulthood with ambition but no degree, and I quickly found myself vulnerable—financially and emotionally. That reality hit harder when I became a husband, and later a father. I was responsible not only for myself, but for someone else. 👨👩👦 And without an education, I lacked the tools to provide real security.
Everything changed when I entered the banking industry. 🏦 There, I worked beside managers and executives who were educated, articulate, and respected. They had what I didn’t. And to be honest, I realized I had to be better and even more educated just to be considered equal. I didn’t pursue education for prestige—I pursued it because I saw, firsthand, that it was the difference between surviving and thriving. 🎓
While my degree didn’t instantly raise my paycheck, it transformed my mind. 🧠 It gave me the ability to write better, speak more effectively, and think critically. Those skills impacted everything—my business, my leadership, my life. That’s why I say this with conviction: If education could bring stability to me, it can bring it to my community. And if it can bring it to my community, it can bring it to our nation. 
❓ How Did We Get Here?
What happened to the American Dream? 💭 To an economy where hard work could buy a home, raise a family, and build wealth?
The answer is clear: We sold it. 💸
Over the last several decades, America has transformed from the world’s industrial powerhouse into a nation dependent on cheap imports, foreign labor, and outsourced production. 🌎 This shift wasn’t accidental—it was the result of deliberate policies and corporate strategies that prioritized profit margins over national interest. 📉 As multinational corporations chased cheap labor and lower costs abroad, the American worker, the middle class, and domestic manufacturing were left behind. 🏭 It’s time we confront this truth.
🌐 Global Trade and the Great Sellout
Multinational corporations, with the full support of politicians on both sides of the aisle, led America into trade agreements that made it easier to import than to produce. China
, Mexico
, Canada
, the EU
, and India 
became our factories, while we became their consumers. 🛍️ These trade deficits now total hundreds of billions annually—billions that could be spent creating jobs, building infrastructure, and investing in our people. 💰
💲 The Myth of “Value” and the Obsession with Cheap Prices
Corporations sold America on the idea that price matters more than quality or national interest. Consumers, conditioned by low-cost goods and big-box convenience, bought into it. 🛒 But what we saved at the register, we paid for in lost jobs, shuttered factories, and stagnant wages. 💔
⚙️ The Abandonment of the American Worker
With the rise of outsourcing, labor unions—once the cornerstone of the American middle class—were systematically dismantled. 🪓 Wages fell. 📉 Job security vanished. ❌ The cost of living soared, but paychecks didn’t keep up. 📈 And while productivity rose, the rewards flowed upward to executives and shareholders, not workers. 📊
🏚️ The Collapse of the Middle Class
Today, America’s middle class is defined not by values or ideals, but by income and real estate. 🏡 If you own a home and have a high income, you have access to wealth-building tools. If you’re renting or living paycheck to paycheck, even with a college degree, you’re stuck on the outside looking in. 😞 A true middle class requires more than income—it requires access to ownership, opportunity, and security. 🔐
🛡️ The Moral and Economic Case for Protectionism
To restore American strength, we must return to economic self-sufficiency. That begins with a conscious decision by consumers: Buy American. If we demand American-made goods, companies will bring manufacturing back home. 🏭 When America produces what it consumes, the trade deficit will shrink, jobs will return, and our economy will finally serve the many, not the few. 🙌
Over the past 40 years, multinational corporations—enabled by politicians—exported American jobs, gutted our industrial base, and replaced long-term national interest with short-term shareholder profit. 📦 They didn’t just chase efficiency—they chased cheap. And in doing so, they abandoned the very people who built this country: the American worker. 🧱
💣 The Price of Cheap
We were told this was for our benefit. Cheaper goods, more variety, global competition. But we were sold a lie. 🧾
In exchange for low prices at Walmart and Amazon, we sacrificed:
• Millions of manufacturing jobs ⚙️
• Entire towns built on industry 🏘️
• Our ability to produce what we consume 🏭
• The economic security of the middle class 💔
We became dependent on imports from China, India, Mexico, and the EU—often produced under exploitative conditions we would never tolerate here. ❌
🪧 The Erosion of Labor Power
While corporations outsourced, they also attacked the last line of defense for American workers: labor unions. ✊ Unions once empowered working families to earn fair wages, secure benefits, and retire with dignity. But now? They’re vilified, defunded, and disempowered. ⚠️
With unions weakened and wages flat, the cost of living surged. 📈 Healthcare 🏥, housing 🏘️, education 🎓—all skyrocketed. Meanwhile, productivity rose, but the benefits flowed to the top: CEOs, shareholders, and global financiers. 📊
🧮 The New Definition of “Middle Class”
Today, the American middle class is defined by two things:
- Income 💵
- Real estate ownership 🏠
If you earn a high income or own property, you can build wealth. If you rent—no matter how hard you work—you’re locked out. 🔒 If you make minimum wage or work without a degree, you’re barely surviving in a country filled with abundance. 😓
There is no longer a broad middle class. There is the asset class, and the working class—and the distance between them is widening every year. ↔️
🏙️ Metropolitan Dreams, Economic Nightmares
Our cities—where opportunity, technology, and entertainment thrive—have become economically unlivable. 🚫 People flock to them for jobs, culture, and connection, but can’t afford to live there. 😩 They want the American lifestyle—but not even a full-time income guarantees it anymore. 🧾
We’ve created a society where the majority can see what they want—but can’t reach it. And that kind of inequality breeds frustration, division, and hopelessness. 💔
🔁 Reclaiming the Economy: The Role of the American Consumer
So where do we start? Not with corporations. They follow profit. 📉
The solution begins with us—the consumers. 🛍️
If Americans stop buying foreign-made goods and demand products made in America, corporations will bring manufacturing home. 🏭 If we prioritize value over price, labor over logos, dignity over discounts—the market will respond. 💬
We can reverse the trade deficit. 📉 We can bring back jobs. 💼 We can restore pride in “Made in America.”
But it will take a cultural shift—a shift in priorities, in purchasing, and in politics. 🗳️
🧱 President Trump’s Vision: Economic Nationalism
Love him or hate him, President Trump’s trade policies aimed to address these imbalances. ⚖️ His approach—tariffs, trade renegotiations, and America-first manufacturing—was rooted in the belief that:
• The U.S. should produce what it consumes
• The American worker deserves economic security 🧍♂️
• A nation with a $1 trillion trade deficit is a nation at risk 🚨
Whether you agree with the methods or not, the goal is clear: Restore America’s economic power and protect its sovereignty. 🦅
🕊️ Closing Reflection: The Power Is Now
The American Dream isn’t dead—it’s just been outsourced. But it can be brought home. 🏡
The power is not in the hands of politicians or CEOs. It’s in our hands. ✊ As consumers. As voters. As citizens.
If we want a nation that builds, educates, and empowers its people—we have to buy into it. Literally. 💵
📢 Stay tuned for Part 2: An Educated America is a Strong America — Why Education Is the New National Defense.
🔗 Connect with Me:
🌐 Website: www.ericfrazier.com
💼 Media & Real Estate Resources: www.thepowerisnow.com
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