I’m inclined to agree. The cheap goods argument breaks on one rock- people with no jobs cannot afford any goods, no matter how cheap. People who are in between jobs or retraining constantly can subsist off of cheap goods, but not prosper. Free trade looks good in theory. When everyone else is practicing mercantilism, though, it is not doing us a lot of good.
If Chinese currency floated, we’d be doing fairly better around the world on the manufacturing front. However, without that, China is helping every one of us by letting us buy cheaper goods.
Heads we win. Tails we win. Either way has advantages.
The best solution is to keep free trade and radically trim government. Government produces nothing and is the huge gorilla in the room that sends investment dollars from businesses toward government debt backing.
Free trade is not the issue. Government is.
We dont need protectionism...we need the govt to get out of the way...
Want to win labor over?
PUT PEOPLE TO WORK.
You wont ever get the leadership...but the members will vote their wallets...
Union Coal workers...
Union gas workers...
Union Oil workers..
Union heavy construction workers...
Remind these guys that unemployment was 4.5% when the democrats took congress in 06’...
Remind them that democrat leaders are pissing away good union jobs in the energy industry..
Remind them that thier tax dollars are going to chinese
workers and european wind turbine namufacturers...
The American people are responsible for this massive exodus. We were not vigilant in selecting those to ‘represent’ us in Washington D.C.. And those sitting on Capitol Hill began turning up the heat. There were those among us sounding alarms but ‘life was good’, no one listened.
The sad thing is that the government schools have taken over our children, told them what to think rather than how to think; taken our Divine Father out of the equation; removed unrevised American History from the curriculum; brain washed our kids with values clarification and situational ethics until there is little chance of turning back. As long as there are people over 65 in this country, we have a slight chance of reclaiming our sovereign Republic, but they are being outnumbered daily with new fodder for the Left.
After many years of cancer research there is no cure. Could that be because there is so much money in not curing it? Are there people behind the scenes who will benefit grandly if the cancer eating the country is not cured?
May God help the Tea Partiers. And may He inspire Good Men to step forward to defeat the disease that is killing our country!
You will find strong disagreement with conservatives about your assertion. Posters on Free Republic are sharply divided. The split seems about even.
Here is my brief summary of the issue, mostly in opposition to your assertion. Trade agreements are complex with their share of flaws. Perhaps the US has not negotiated well on trade agreements. Other countries would not agree with my last statement. Other countries have as many complaints about our trading behavior as we have of their behavior. We have plenty of protectionist behavior that other countries complain about.
Trade agreements, even with their flaws, are not the major problem. The problem with our economy is the Marxist in the white house and Marxist control of Congress. We have become highly risk averse as a country. Risk aversion to some extent has allowed Marxist control of our government. We have a horrible business environment dominated by regulations, litigation, taxation, government control of key industries, labor cartels, and government dependency.
I do not see any alternative to international trade agreements. We cannot turn back the clock. Global competition makes every country more competitive. Protectionism will unleash labor cartels and make our technology non competitive.
The objective is the destruction of the American Ideal that “TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, governments are instituted among men”.
Our British owners never liked that; and their Communist Chinese “Capitalist” NyLon descendent’s evidently still don’t - and are using every clever mercantile trick at their disposal to accomplish what their ancestors couldn’t: Reacquisition of the American Colonies.
Do NyLons float as well as Tea did?
I't's been a lot longer than four decades.
When did steel, and all the associated industries begin to plummet?
I remember having discussions about the absurd concept of a national economy based solely on services and consumerism ---- in the mid-late sixties.
It took more like 50 years but the catastrophe is complete.
Any society not able to provide for all of its needs domestically, is at the mercy of somene or something else.
The unions, almost singlehandedly, enabled the ultimate destruction. With the indifference of management, government and the "reality show - sports universe" public.
Don't forget the enviromental Nazis who force steel producers to close down "for the children and the planet". There are several reasons for why our industrial base is minimized...not the least of which is that we care more about the snail darter and the march rat than we do about the economy.
What a frightening definition of "free Trade."
We don't have it now.
We may have never had it.
Tolerating punishing and draconian import duties from our so-called "Trading" partners is NOT "free trade"; it is stupidity.
Let's fight back with the weapons we have, before we no longer have them: innovation, technology and food.
Let the next 5 or 6 strongest economies in the world pick up their share of the burden, proportional to their economic "strength."
Let them rush equipment and food to disasters world wide, as quickly as the U.S. does.
Absent that, let's scale back to our proportional ability.
Let these strong economies defend themselves.
This neverland BS is getting really tedious.
Including World Nut Daily.