[rogue yam]

Any increases in costs to consumers are more than offset by the savings that results from Americans going back to work.

So person A's increased costs are "offset" by person B's increased profits? That is exactly what I said: the government is taking money from person A and giving it to person B.

What you fail to explain is why this is any different than what Obama is already doing. After all, when he "saved" GM the losses by the bondholders, dealers, and taxpayers were "offset" by the payoffs to the UAW.

[central_va]

Question: Do you know the percentage of private sector(both manufacturing and other) workers that are unionized? And a follow up question: Which way is the trend going?

[DannyTN]

"So person A's increased costs are "offset" by person B's increased profits? That is exactly what I said: the government is taking money from person A and giving it to person B."

No, I said "More than offset". What you are willfully ignoring, is that instead of the Communist Chinese government getting the proceeds, it's an American worker. That's a big big, huge difference.

Now the government pays out unemployment, food stamps, medicaid and disability so that you can get the absolute cheapest price from the communists. The government is subsidizing your cheapest price now.

It would be better if instead of government paying out for the unemployed, that we actually put them to work and let them pay taxes. And if that means you have to buy from an American manufacturer instead of the communists, so be it.

Because here is a clue. The communist government isn't playing by our rules.

The communist government isn't going to take the proceeds and buy american goods even if their people want them. They are going to buy American businesses and dismantle them and ship them to China and put more of their own people to work. And they are buying American debt to enslave us. And they are locking up raw materials so that they will be the only game in town.

Wise up! Go back and read that introductory level macro-economics book. And pay attention this time to the exception to the free trade argument when the trading partners are unequal.

[DannyTN]

Free Trade works only when countries are equal trading partners.

An example of free trade working is this:

• Country #1 produces WidgetA at a cost of $1.00 and WidgetB at a cost of $3.00.
• Country #2 produces WidgetA at a cost of $3.00 and WidgetB at a cost of $1.00.
• By specializing in production and trading both countries enjoy more WidgetAA and more WidgetBs and at a lower cost.

An example of Free trade not working is this:

• Country #1 produces WidgetA And WidgetB.
• Country #2 produces neither, but has abundant excess labor.
• By Trading, Country #2 produces both WidgetA and WidgetB cheaper than Country #1 did.
• To make matters worse Country #2 doesn't buy any products from Country #1 with the proceeds of Widgets they sold to Country #1.
• Instead Country #2 use the proceeds to buy the manufacturing firms that manufacture other widgets in Country #1 and dismantle them and move them Country #2.
• Country #1 gets cheap widgets initially but soon has high unemployment and no money to buy widgets from country #2.

[DannyTN]

"What you fail to explain is why this is any different than what Obama is already doing. After all, when he "saved" GM the losses by the bondholders, dealers, and taxpayers were "offset" by the payoffs to the UAW. "

What?!! Why would I even think to go there? They are completely different!!! It's like saying I failed to explain the difference between a watermelon and a cow turd.

Tariffs are nothing like what Obama did. Tariffs protect the domestic market, while still allowing competition within the market. And generating revenues to our government when foreign countries subsidize their products or pay slave labor rates like the communists.

What Obama did was to take control of a single business entity and install government appointed administrators. Since he didn't protect the market, there is no reason to think that this is anything but putting a band-aid on a cancer. Obama's bail-out is nothing but a big unemployment check, just pretend you are still working.

It might give GM some time but otherwise does nothing to cure the underlying disease. In fact, given the emphasis on the Volt, it appears to have accelerated the disease.