I didn't say that at all!
Why is it that we must become the shallow, knee-jerk side who can't face the second-order consequences of actions? That used to be the libs!
I also can't buy the idea that having illegal aliens taking jobs in this country while the government pays Americans to sit home and collect unemployment is a real bad idea.
It's absolutely ridiculous. But the whole point is that American wages must be in line with the global market or else we have simply set ourselves up for being uncompetitive. And if we bailout companies that have uncompetitive labor agreements, then all we are doing is throwing taxpayer money in the toilet. These firms need to go bankrupt, to be purchased by other Americans who run them efficiently.
That comment shows lack of big-picture thinking.
Through the effective use of tariff, based on our social values and "fair" competition, we can have SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER average wages and standard of living then the rest of the world.
Assign a tariff to every component...an off-shore VAT...which is manufactured overseas. The same would apply to raw commodities.
Hell, we should have a $50/bbl tariff on imported oil NOW while the price is low. Use the revenue to off-set the taxes on companies that produce domestically.
Shoes, shirts, washing machines, TVs, lumber, paper, you name it. All protected by an annually-adjusted tariff based on the values of American society...purely subjective reasoning.
When we didn't like France at the beginning of Gulf War II, tariff everything from France at 150%. Now that they're being nicer, tariff's reduced to 10%.
The US is AFRAID to use their commercial power. We have over 1/2 of the world's REAL capital...and we're afraid to use it because somebody might use open-source vs Microsoft...AirBus vs Boeing.
Let 'em. They'll always know they risk our wrath...and the wrath of 1/2 the world's capital (and consumption)can be very unpleasant.