"economic misery"
This must be so much worse than what Alexander describes.
It IS because so many are fixated upon money for it's own sake that the home-workforce is abandoned in favour of pressed labour abroad. With no thought given as to 'where' the wherewithal shall come from in the home market devoid of earners.
Your only answer is to adopt the working practices of a far-flung Command Economy that you helped to create.
"Free enterprise", joins 'fairness' in the wilderness of the 'f' word.
IF!!! one is set to rely upon the spending power of one's domestic market, one best ensure the presence of spending-power within that market. To do otherwise is to adopt the marvel of the Midas Touch, and you know what happened to him?
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/midas.html