[gondramB]

Interesting for the opponents of NAFTA here. Free trade is a conservative principle - when one opposes free trade one sides with unions, nanny staters and other anti-free market forces.

[mjolnir]

Well put and very true; it is impossible to tax one’s country into prosperity, and in the end, a tariff is just another kind of tax.

But the argument for free trade appears to have been lost in the hearts and minds of the American people; even those politicians who wholly support it like Fred Thompson don’t seem willing to make an issue of their support, presumably because polling tells them it’s the third rail of politics.

[RebelTex]

            THE NAFTA PLAYING FIELD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Cost of Labor

        USA
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
UNIONS
Minimum Wage
Social Security
Benefit Plans                      
Workers Comp.                   3rd World Countries
OSHA                                             $$$
FDA                                     Slave labor/wages
CPSC                                   Child labor/wages
EPA                                      Few regulations

 Free Trade is NOT free when the playing field is unequal.