In the past 25 years, there has been much growth of the global economy and a corresponding decline of the U.S. economy.  Main U.S. exports, to other countries, have been our nation’s advanced technologies, petro-dollars, jobs, wealth and standard of living.  If truth-in-labeling could be applied in all situations: National Grid (formerly, Niagara Mohawk Power, an upstate New York State public utility, now British owned.) might have to change it’s name to "Global Greed" and U.A.E. run seaports, in the U.S., would have to be called U.S. ex-ports.

If a British owned company, operating U.S. seaports, can sell it’s business to an Arab nation, then National Grid could do the same.  While the U.S. might succeed in reducing our dependence on middle east oil, the flow of energy dollars to that same region could still increase.  Our utility bill payments would then take the place of petro-dollars.  International terrorism would then, continue to be funded with U.S. dollars paid, by us, for our own domestically produced energy.  This is to say nothing about the possibly negative impact on our own environment and wildlife areas.

Given National Grid’s recently staggering increases in utility rates, of by more than 30%, we may wonder if the N.Y.S. Public Service Commission was at all involved in approving this decision.  Or are all Americans now at the mercy of foreign or globally owned enterprises?  All with the blessing of our own U.S. and respective state governments?

Just who, among us, actually benefits from all of this?   My guess: Not the dwindling middle class or the growing lower working classes, but the upper economic classes, deemed needful of yet another federal tax cut and able to live much more lavishly from investments in the much heralded "global economy".  A global economy in which they are free to increase prices to consumers as well as cut wages and benefits to workers.  While, at the same time, working Americans are being gradually forced into a new class of global economic slavery or indentured servitude where the "new" democracy (another stated export from the U.S.) lacks the protections of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.  This, in turn, will allow most working Americans to be "free", along with the rest of the world, to starve and share in a new "Global Poverty".

 An entirely new perspective, perhaps, on the true intent of the Patriot Act.  For example:  How can the citizens of newly created "democracies" be expected to live with fewer civil rights than those previously enjoyed by Americans?

All of this may make some Americans ask: Just what is wrong with this picture?.