Posted on 03/10/2004 4:43:33 AM PST by 1rudeboy
President George W. Bush hit back at Democratic critics of his administration's job-creation efforts on Tuesday, branding them as "economic isolationists" who would raise new trade barriers and damage the US economy.
The comments came as part of what appeared to be a co-ordinated administration effort to respond to growing political pressures over the slow pace of US job growth, which has helped push Mr Bush's likely Democratic opponent, John Kerry, ahead of the president in several recent polls.
In a speech in Virginia, Mr Bush said: "There are economic isolationists in our country who believe we should separate ourselves from the rest of the world by raising up barriers and closing off markets. They're wrong. If we are to continue growing this economy and creating new jobs, America must remain confident and strong about our ability to trade in the world."
Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative, similarly warned Congress on Tuesday that "given the fact we're now in a stage of an economic recovery, the absolutely worst thing we could do would be to turn to economic isolationism".
Mr Zoellick told the Senate finance committee that increasing US exports to countries such as China and India, encouraging foreign investment in the US, and helping workers adjust to the loss of some jobs abroad were better responses than "bureaucratic interventions that will increase prices to our people".
Mr Bush's comments came less than a week after the Senate passed legislation aimed at preventing US government contracts from being carried out by workers in developing countries.
The administration has been uncertain over how to respond to the continued slow pace of job creation. Mr Bush has sought to distance himself from recent remarks by a senior economic adviser, Gregory Mankiw, that outsourcing of jobs is just a part of trade and therefore good for the US economy. But the administration now appears set to mount a more robust defence of companies that move US jobs abroad.
"US companies with foreign affiliates now account for about 58 per cent of our exports," said Mr Zoellick. "So the companies that do business overseas are also exporting overseas."
"I think the challenge is: How do you help people in a way that doesn't hurt or kill other jobs?" he said, pointing out that the US currently runs a $60bn annual trade surplus in the service sector, which has seen a growing number of jobs moved to lower-wage countries.
It adds up.
What I want to know is what happens when "ordinary Americans" can't afford even "cheap goods"?
When did "Free Trade" become defined as: 'Sending as many jobs as possible to countries with lower living standards in order to maximize profits by slashing payroll'
Rut roh, I doubt that this is going to go over well with the general public.
Maybe, but I'm not so sure. Bush can surely make the case that the U.S. is a net beneficiary of world-wide outsourcing. He just has to tell the story and keep telling it.
Don't forget those 5 million or so folks who work for Toyota, BMW, Seimans, Thomson CSF et al that are the benefactors of outsourcing from other countries. They know where a Kerry isolationist policy would take them and they are not going to go down that road.
And Walmart employees are not going to be jumping up and down when they listen to Kerry. They are, I assume, mostly folks who are inclined to lean Democrat who would also not look kindly on anything that would restrict their company's ability to import the cheap chinese goods that are the fuel that runs Walmart.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Right or wrong in this position, these campaign policy-makers appear to be isolated from reality. The concerned talk on the American street today is not terror, but is primarily related to jobs and the work place....i.e.....outsourcing, getting laid off, getting dismissed, immigrants taking jobs from Americans, trying to deal with employees who don't speak English, corporations moving overseas, immigrants working for lower wages than Americans, falling salaries or no raises, cuts in benefits, established, respected companies going bankrupt or out of business.....it goes on and on.
If conservatives try to explain some valid Bush or Republican logic on some of these issues, it falls on deaf ears. Folks in the workplace, whether white collar or the trades, are upset and are blaming everything on Bush. The level of discontent is more widespread and serious than conservatives allow themselves to think.
Leni
Ehhh, I guess computers are the new buggy-whips.
I don't think that you understand how the typical Walmart employee thinks - I think he is more likely to resent being stuck in a deadend job that pays $7 bucks an hour rather than worry about where it is that Walmart imports its products.
Read carefully what you're saying: it's a terrible thing if someone makes a lot of money-- either everyone gets the same amount of money or we all have to loose money equally.
Witness all the potential Kerry voters on this thread.
Ya that's right...
They are soo flippin selfish for not wanting to default on their mortgage.
Witness all the potential Kerry voters on this thread.
No one has supported Lurch - and besides, he's beholden to the same "Captains of Industry" who are shoving this down our throats.
It's the middle class that's getting outsourced and they voted for Bush in 2000. Who will make up their votes?
People don't seem to understand this either. I bet the buggy whip and typewriter manufacturers were just as po'd when it happened to them,
then they found jobs in the new industries.
The problem here is that I don't see what this newer, more (skillwise) demanding industry is at this time.
Dear Mr. Bush--I'll be voting for you, but it looks as if it's going to be with very little enthusiasm--much less than I had even a year ago.
I listen to your speeches, and I was inspired by your many calls to sacrifices.
I'm beginning to believe, however, that's all you have in store for us citizens--sacrifices.
The privileges and bounties of being Americans, or even legal resident aliens, are diminishing more every day.
While I want to see Iraq's borders protected, how I wish you regarded America's national sovereignty with as much passion. I'm so sick of seeing you grin at Vicente Fox I could heave.
It all started with that "willing workers for willing employers"--we all know that there are willing slaves for willing slave-drivers.
I just didn't know that that was what you had in mind for Americans.
Most of them are probably trolls anyway. Trade is good for an economy and the American economy has just continued to boom as its markets have been freed.
No it won't. "Outsourcing" gets a lot of screams from a vocal but very small minority. Most Americans aren't that stupid. Just watch.
Right now I am convinced that Bush does not want to win this election. He has done everything in his power to alienate most Americans. While this sort of talk may get him the "Corporate vote", it will not get him the other votes. It almost seems as if he thinks the War on Terror will win the election for him no matter what he does. If Kerry does win this election, I will place the blame soley on Bush and his advisors.
I think it's offshoring more than mere outsourcing that's the issue.
Not all of dem Rats oppose offshoring. On this issue Hillary is the President's sister.
According to the WSJ (Daniel Henninger) Hillary defended offshoring against Lou Dobbs' criticism of Tata Consultancy in Buffalo by saying, "I know they outsource jobs," the senator replied with the patience of Job, "but they've brought jobs to Buffalo. You know, outsourcing does work both ways."
"I'm not in favor of putting up fences around the country," said the Senator. [end excerpt]
"Free" trade supporters offer little more than a kind of "It's for the children" feeeeeeeeling as the benefit of "free" trade. Oddly, some are among the most vocal opponents of Kyoto, a thinly disguised ruse to distribute wealth to "developing nations."
But what is this version of "free" trade? Sending our technology, manufacturing, and IT-enabled services off shore and importing those goods and services redistributes wealth to "developing nations." Bad enough but what is really maddening is the way those nations became ready to receive our goodies. To wit, our government's help in building their infrastructures.
So why don't "free" traders join Hillary and support Kyoto also? Both take from those who have and give to those who need. Both remove resources from our Republic and give the resource to others. Oh, yeah. One helps the pocketbooks of a some Americans and the other doesn't..
This version of "free" trade is jobs chasing cheap labor and short-term gain, fair enough. That's life. But I suppose it's too much to ask 'em to stop lying about it?
They think if there is a socialist country everyone will be happy. The government should never be in the job creation or retention position. The Fair Tax is the only true way to compete.
Maybe not free on their end, but free on ours. And that's all that matters. As long as our markets are free, we will continue to greatly outpace them economically as we have for decades.
Subsidies to the sugar people forced companies into Canada from this country.
Wealth is being destroyed in this country by the regulatory juggernaut of bureaucratic government. Take drug manufacturers as an example: How many dollars do they spend on research to meet a market demand only to have to jump the hurdles of the FDA? When and if they come up with a product, how many years does it take for FDA approval? When the FDA announces, as if they are to be thanked, "this new drug will save 15,000 lives this year," why doesn't anyone ask: "Does that mean you killed 45,000 people over the last three years before you would give it your stamp of approval?
I'm a sole proprietor. Based on the strangle-hold the State has on me--in fact, I'm being forced to take a business law course so I can continue working as my father before me--along with the other regulations I must comply with--I say one would have to be out of his mind to gointo business in this country.
Or are we all going to suggest that our regulatory government is non-existent?
Yep. "Underlying every argument against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
Patently ridiculous. Who would you say is taking the "emotional" stand on this thread?
Well... then that's just Bush's fault - plain and simple.
Kerry holds the EXACT SAME POSITION as Bush, and his voting record proves that fact. Bush/Rove should be outing him as a liar (and actually USING that word)
Bureau of Labor statistics:
January 2001 Employment - 136.0 million
January 2004 Employment - 138.566 million
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