The relationship
between government and corporations ebbs and flows as each struggles for the
power of self-determination. Often, their goals aligned and they supported each
other for different reasons. Prior to the founding of the US in 1789, the
invention of the steam engine in 1712 allowed for the generation of energy that
would replace the wind mill and water mill.
The Industrial Revolution began in the US in 1793 with a textile mill in
Rhode Island.
After the War of 1812,
government wanted to add the Mexican territories to the US. Both government and corporations wanted the
infrastructure to accelerate commerce.
The Cumberland Road was built in 1811 to transport goods to and from
Cumberland Maryland to the Ohio River. The Erie Canal project began in 1817 and
was completed in 1821. This enabled shipping from the Midwest to overseas to
transport imports and exports. The
development of the steam engine in 1712 led to the invention of the steam ship
and transport by rail.
Government and
corporations cooperated to begin to develop the railroad in 1820. Railroads
developed primarily to move goods for commerce and were developed enough by the
1850s to allow commerce to grow.
Railroads and the
invention of the telegraph allowed the Union Army to supply troops and defeat
the Confederates in the Civil War from April 1861 to May 1965.
Construction of the
transcontinental railroad began in 1863 and was completed in 1869. It was 1,756
miles long and ran from Iowa to California to allow easier settlement and
commerce from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. It replaced the covered
wagon.
Immigration to the US
has been largely controlled by labor needs by the partnership between
government and corporations. It was based on merit and the ability of
immigrants to support themselves until the 1960s.
The chart below shows
the number of immigrants admitted to the US by decade since 1821:
US Immigration History
1821 - 1830: 143,439
1831 - 1840: 599,125
1841 - 1850: 1,713,251
1851 - 1860: 2,598,214
1861 - 1870: 2,314,825
1871 - 1880: 2,812,191
1881 - 1890: 5,246,613
1891 - 1900: 3,687,564
1901 - 1910: 8,795,386
1911 - 1920: 5,735,811
1921 - 1930: 4,107,209
1931 - 1940: 532,431
1941 - 1950: 1,035,039
1951 - 1960: 2,515,479
1961 - 1970: 3,321,677
1971 - 1980: 4,493,314
1981 - 1990: 7,338,062
1991 - 2000: 9,095,417
2001 - 2010: 13,900,000
The US population grew
from 4 million in 1790 to
63 million in 1890 to
259 million by 1990. The current US population is 325 million and 60 million
are immigrants.
In 1986 the Emergency
Medical and Treatment Labor Act (EMTLA) was passed requiring private hospitals
to treat uninsured indigent patients. Hospitals have been cost-shifting these
indigent costs to paying customers ever since.
In 1996 federal
welfare laws allowed legal immigrants access to US welfare programs.
Welfare and government
services for immigrants costs US taxpayers $384 billion a year. It goes on our
credit card and is added to the federal deficit and national debt.
Now in 2018, we are
attempting to pay for our reckless spending by working our way out of our
fiscal hole. Let’s hope that works.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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