Posted on 10/04/2007 7:07:18 AM PDT by SJackson
I've seen a lot of opinion polling, but my jaw dropped when I saw this result from our special NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll of Republicans in advance of next week's presidential candidate debate sponsored by CNBC, MSNBC and the WSJ. By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.
Six in 10 Republicans in the poll agreed with a statement that free trade has been bad for the U.S. and said they would agree with a Republican candidate who favored tougher regulations to limit foreign imports. That represents a challenge for Republican candidates who generally echo Mr. Bush’s calls for continued trade expansion, and reflects a substantial shift in sentiment from eight years ago.
"It’s a lot harder to sell the free-trade message to Republicans," said Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who conducts the Journal/NBC poll with Democratic counterpart Peter Hart.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Scoff, it’s what you do best.
Like China?
OSHA has alot to do with American companies relocating.
Duncan Hunter, who opposes unequal trading deals, is on record against so-called “free trade” that ties American trade up in legal knots, while America lives up to its deals.
Hunter also strongly supports the rational need for America to keep its own Defense Industry strong and totally in our country.
No, but I can show where suppliers are forced to cut into the bone to please Wal-Mart, and then have to offshore or go out of business.
Try FastCompany.com, click here and here.
Cheers!
http://blog.barofintegrity.us/2007/09/04/duncan-hunter-interview-with-hugh-hewitt.aspx
Hugh Hewitt interviews Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter at the Texas Straw Poll before the results came in—Hunter won with 41% of the vote...
Transcription:
Hugh Hewitt: Any member of the media or any of the debate ask any questions that haven’t been asked yet?
Duncan Hunter: You know Hugh, I would like them to ask about the long term prospects for opportunities for this next generation. Good job prospects.
That is a question that begs for analysis of what we are doing with our trade policies where we are pushing American industry off shore. We are sending lots of manufacturing and high paying jobs to China. You have a lot of people on Wall Street selling those jobs out. They mark up the difference between $25 - $30 per hour to an American vs. a $1.00 per hour to somebody in China. And they move the company.
We are going to need to level that playing field, so that Americans, the next generation of Americans, those great kids coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq, have the same good job opportunities that we had.
excerpt
If you can see it, then it is very likely to happen. The model will soon be overhauled by some enterprising soul with millions of dollars who wants to hire some pre- professors that can make their name better known in the industry. Instead of spending $50M for 50 professors over the next 5 years, he spends $10M for 50 lecturers and has the rights to their recorded lectures.
Many jobs can be reduced like this, and the expensive components outsourced. That’s what we’re seeing across industries right now.
You wrote:
“Not at all good for our middle/working classes.
Because our middle/working classes don’t benefit from inexpensive imports. Got it.”
____________________
Middle/working classes do benefit from inexpensive imports when they have income to buy those imports. Once they are out of work, they can no longer buy even the inexpensive imports. During the Great Depression, prices of everything plummeted, but few people could take advantage of that.
So maybe WalMart pocketed a bit of the savings and passed on the bulk of the savings to its customers? Thanks.
Excellent.
Once they are out of work, they can no longer buy even the inexpensive imports.
I know, 4.7% unemployment rate and rising wages. Terrible.
“4.7% unemployment rate”
Don’t get too used to it.
“and rising wages”
WHERE?
People are getting 2nd jobs to make ends meet.
“the fact that U.S. companies pay the highest corporate income tax rate in the world (or second highest, depending how you calculate), and the fact that they must pay it on their world-wide income actually encourages them to offshore their operations”
I agree with you on this fact, however corporations have very sharp lawyers who look for every loophole, and end up paying less in taxes than you would think. Plus, that doesn’t stop the facts that I listed regarding the multitude of unfair trade practices that our trading partners (and I use the word partners very loosely) engage in, while we (Mr. nice guy) are played for saps. There are some things we can do to clean up our own act regarding business, but that doesn’t stop the fact that we are being undercut right and left by foreign businesses that are being subsidized by their gov’ts, world trade courts that continually vote against our interests, tariffs, inability to get our goods into foreign markets that can get into ours, oil cartels that milk us then turn around and enhance their armanents with the profit they make off of us, a dollar that is falling which has good points and bad points, but when it gets so low, other countries will switch to another currency like the Euro and squeeze us even more financially. I believe your totally free trade policy, which isn’t free, is highly myopic.
“the fact that U.S. companies pay the highest corporate income tax rate in the world (or second highest, depending how you calculate), and the fact that they must pay it on their world-wide income actually encourages them to offshore their operations”
I agree with you on this fact, however corporations have very sharp lawyers who look for every loophole, and end up paying less in taxes than you would think. Plus, that doesn’t stop the facts that I listed regarding the multitude of unfair trade practices that our trading partners (and I use the word partners very loosely) engage in, while we (Mr. nice guy) are played for saps. There are some things we can do to clean up our own act regarding business, but that doesn’t stop the fact that we are being undercut right and left by foreign businesses that are being subsidized by their gov’ts, world trade courts that continually vote against our interests, tariffs, inability to get our goods into foreign markets that can get into ours, oil cartels that milk us then turn around and enhance their armanents with the profit they make off of us, a dollar that is falling which has good points and bad points, but when it gets so low, other countries will switch to another currency like the Euro and squeeze us even more financially. I believe your totally free trade policy, which isn’t free, is highly myopic.
whoops, a twofer by accident.
What do you propose we do? This crap has been going on for years. I’ll give you a reading assignment. Go look at the “Hawley-Smoot Tariff” and get back with me.
Tariffs seem to be just fine for other countries to do to us. I never suggested we raise tariffs in the U.S. I said other countries are impeding our free trade with them by using tariffs and we do nothing about it. There are other ways to voice our displeasure short of creating tariffs ourselves. And we should put the squeeze on any country doing it to us. Cut off their foreign aid from us for example.
We have an approximately $250 BILLION trade imbalance EACH YEAR with Red China alone - more money for China to buy weapons.
My husband is underemployed, has a Master’s degree, but does warehouse work, because that’s all he can find. But that’s OK, he doesn’t mind it, and lost weight and his blood pressure went down.
However, so many of the workers there need 2nd jobs, because they can’t afford to make ends meet with the salary they receive.
I worked for a newspaper, and my wages were very low, and my very intelligent co-worker had to live in a cheap apartment, because that’s all she could afford.
Many people don’t seem to getting paid what their worth anymore. I believe some of the reasons are because we are competing with low foreign-country wages.
Some people are driving an hour and a half to work one-way, because there are no more jobs near where they live.
No. Because the vast majority of the American people you prey on, and laugh at, and demean.... don't have the option of protecting themselves.
And they wouldn't need to if it weren't for your dogmatically-blindered predations, and those you enable to pretend they are doing no wrong.
You are.
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