You probably remember the presidential election of 1992, when an unknown Democratic governor from Arkansas ran against incumbent President George H.W. Bush. One of the Democrats' rallying cries during that era was "It's the economy, stupid."

Without any support from me, Bill Clinton was elected president twice and balanced the budget. Now another election is near, and the Democrats are trying to hold onto their majorities in the Senate and House.

The lies and distortions are flying thick and fast. However, to this former newspaper editor way out in rural Kansas, the main American problem is simple and straightforward.

"We need jobs, stupid."

I've been writing about the outsourcing of jobs for years, but nobody will listen. Some experts tell us with a straight face: "Those jobs are gone, and they aren't coming back. American workers need to learn new skills."

I don't believe that for a second. For one thing, what happens when the "new-skills" jobs are outsourced, too?

Look at what happened. First, American companies shipped much of their manufacturing overseas so they could maximize profits by hiring cheap labor. Now we learn China, which manufactures many of the articles we buy, is keeping the value of its currency (the Yuan) low so they can undersell worldwide competitors.

There's a way to keep our jobs at home or bring them back home.

Tariffs.

This word strikes terror into the hearts of politicians and economists. Here's how my dictionary defines it: "A list or system of duties imposed by a government on imported or exported goods."

Have you ever heard a Kansas elected official mention the word "tariff?" Have you ever heard it mentioned on any newscast, or have you read it in any newspaper? You would think it's a forbidden four-letter word.

Actually, China already is using tariffs. Here's how a Canadian government official, David Kilgour, explains their methods. He was a member of the Canadian Parliament and also served as secretary of state for the Asia-Pacific region.

"China is a currency manipulator," he wrote. "Manipulated currency amounts to both an export subsidy and a tariff on imports."

He believes China's trading partners should indicate they intend to add 40 percent, or whatever amount the World Trade Organization or IMF finds is the correct figure, as a duty to the price of any product imported from China -- unless a realistic value is obtained by a "clearly floating yuan."

How's that again? This trade expert said China is, in effect, using both export subsidies and tariffs to undersell the world market. At the same time, we don't seem to be fighting back. And why should China need to manipulate its trade when they have all of that cheap labor?

Actually, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. But we have a huge trade deficit with China, and we apparently borrowed from China much of the trillion or so dollars that continues to be spent on Bush's Iraq war. Who can be sure? The reports are rare and vague.

So, if you think I'm way out of line, give me another solution. Many American jobs are gone, and more will follow them overseas if we don't act. At the same time, we are operating on credit from a nation that we've never really trusted. Worst of all, our economy is shaky and unemployment is nearly 10 percent.

Berate my idea to your heart's content, but remember this: "We need jobs, stupid."

Darrel Miller lives near Downs in rural Osborne County and is a retired weekly newspaper editor.