A Tea Party friend of mine was upset that "the libs" were going to take over Washington and let The UN dictate our foreign policy.  "We are Americans", he reminded me, "And we should do what is good for America, no matter what some foreigners want!"  I tended to agree with him and let the matter rest.  

A few months later, my Tea Party friend and I were discussing the lack of good paying jobs in America, as business after business closes manufacturing operations here (but leaves the corporate offices intact)  and moves to Mexico, China, India, and other nations where labor (and the environment) is more easily exploited.  I wondered if this was a good idea; was it wise to let multinational corporations dictate American policy?  My Tea Party friend insisted there was nothing we could or should do because, “We’re in a Global Economy!"  

Well, okay, I thought.  We can't protect our manufacturing jobs because we are in a global economy and many other nations pay poor wages with no benefits for manufacturing jobs, so we've got to submit to this global reality.  Suddenly, I had an epiphany.  

In this same global economy, virtually all the western industrialized democracies have some form of Universal Health Care!  I approached my Tea Party friend and asked, "Hey, under the pressures of a global economy, shouldn’t the USA adopt Universal Health Care?"  My friend shot back, “HELL NO!  We're Americans.  We are a sovereign nation and we will not let some Euro-Socialist commies dictate our national policies!"   (But somehow he’s okay with Communist China as our largest trade partner, dictating our policies)

"Oh, right...” I replied, "I forgot that we are Americans and we make our own decisions.  I guess that answers my next question."  

"What was it?", my Tea Party friend inquired.

"Our CEO's and upper management earn many times more in salary and benefits than their counterparts in the rest of this global economy" I explained.   "In order to be competitive, shouldn't we lower their earnings, you know, to be competitive in the global economy?"

"There you go again", my Tea Party friend shouted at me, "Letting foreigners dictate what's best for us.  We're Americans and we have our freedoms!  We will not allow any foreign markets dictate how much our hard working, job creating, CEO's are paid!"

After a while, I began to see the pattern.  The term Global Economy is used to justify eroding the status, wealth, and sovereignty of America’s working middle class.  It is a term that requires the user to seek out any and all nations that have lower standards than ours, relative to labor, and apply them to us without question.  However, any nation that has higher standards than ours, relative to labor and/or comparatively hostile policies to investor capitalists and the wealthy class is to be ignored, as we are Americans!