Trading Seabiscuit for a Rabbit

WorldNet Daily ^ | 4 August 2003 | Patrick J Buchanan

[harpseal]

It may seem strange to lump Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt together. The conventional wisdom is that Hoover was a supporter of laissez-faire capitalism whose inactivity let corrupt business practices drive the country into the Depression, while Roosevelt reformed the economy and therefore pulled the country out of the Depression. Neither impression is true. Hoover was a Teddy Roosevelt "Progressive" who believed in activist government. Federal spending increased faster during Hoover's four years than during the first seven years of the New Deal. Hoover promoted high wages for workers and high prices for farmers. Twice, in 1920 as chief of the wartime Food Relief Administration and then after he became President in 1929, Hoover wrecked the American agricultural export market by using the power of the federal government to drive up agricultural prices. That was supposed to be good for farmers, but it simply destroyed their foreign markets. Hoover then destroyed almost all export markets by signing the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, even though he was warned in a petition from 1000 economists not to do it. Within a year American trade had fallen more than 50% and unemployment had jumped from 6% to 17%. Later Roosevelt said that farmers didn't need an export market anyway! (For the details of this, see The Farm Fiasco, by James Bovard, ICS Press, San Francisco, 1991.)

Blaming the depression on the smoot hawley tariffs merely meansd someoine has not studied the great depression at all.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922 customs levels were increased to the highest levels in US history, yet this helped lead to the economic success of the Roaring Twenties

Now since the Great Depression actually started abroad and was brought to the USA by the Federal reserve policies of the 1920's and the manufactured credit crunch one must really question either your research or your intent in posting this. Perhaps you have only read the anti-tariff historical interpretations but clearly the Great depression was signaled by the Stack Market crash in 1929 and the Smoot-Hawley tariffs were not passed until 1930. If one is going to blame high tariffs for "The Great Depression" then one must also explain the Roaring Twenties prosperity in the USA with high tariffs.

[Cacophonous]

What is really baffling is the mindset of the free traders. I was only half-way tongue in cheek when I referred to them as a cult. They mindlessly mouth the free-trade mantra without a review of history or a consideration of the consequences. Logic and reasoned argument only brings foaming at the mouth taunts.

I am almost to the point of concluding that they are intentionally advocating a course of action that will destroy the US? Why? I don't know. Maybe they do really value cheaper cars over US economic sovereignty. Very discouraging.

[Texas_Dawg]

Our economy is not rolling along just fine

Sure it is. Cyclical downturn. That's life. You got a better economy you can show me?

[harpseal]

I am almost to the point of concluding that they are intentionally advocating a course of action that will destroy the US? Why? I don't know. Maybe they do really value cheaper cars over US economic sovereignty. Very discouraging.

Some of them do have that as a value. If one reasds some of the posts praising Mexican illegals and how wonderful it is that they drive down the costs of things like lawn maintainence and the effusive praise of China. Others are just so absolutely enamored of a Libertarian thought process they accuse people who talk reasonably about tariff policy of being Marxists and tehy refuse to deal with facts.

I personally have a real problem with people who try to influence public policy by misrepresenting history and it is often Free traders who do this. I have a whole lot less problem with Free traders who are merely misinformed and are willing to look at history.

[woofie]

My God Pat...Its the end of the world!!! take all your worthless American money out from the mattress and send it to me ...quick!

[Cacophonous]

LOL..an amusing post, but...what's your point?

[JohnGalt]

The problem with these economic screeds is that Pat knows that this issue divides the very real paleo-movement.

A better place to start is on the more complicated monetary policy issue which is the real culprit to many of the manufacturing problems faces by the country. The 'strong dollar' (artificially stong dollar) works as a de facto export tariff originating from Washington that makes it very difficult for US manufacturers to compete in foreign markets.

[harpseal]

Sure it is. Cyclical downturn. That's life. You got a better economy you can show me? We have been in a recovery for six months and we are still having increasing unemployment. Such is not normal in a cyclical downturn. I for one though have a whole lot less problem with Free Trade with Chile and Singapore than I do with current trade structure with China or even Mexico. Chile is a whole lot closer to our economic development and they do not have the nationalized industries the way Mexico does.

[Age of Reason]

Yet still our economy is rolling along just fine.

It is?

What's more, there is a good case to be made--especially when it comes to those things that are most important--that America's standard of living has declined over the past thirty-years.

[harpseal]

The 'strong dollar' (artificially stong dollar) works as a de facto export tariff originating from Washington that makes it very difficult for US manufacturers to compete in foreign markets.

Then the US goods face tariffs of up to 50% in China or tariff barriers that make the export of goods to China like Harley Davidosn motorcycles impossible. Harley has captured one fifth of the worldwide motorcycle market and that is while being unable to sell in China.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

I agree, except I would change the word "social" to "moral". Because I want moral conservative judges and justices I will vote Republican. Republicans are also much stronger on national defense.

1787 - from a letter to Thomas Jefferson from John Adams
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

[usmc_chris]

"Let's see... a cyclical economic downturn costs a couple million jobs for ultra-left Democrat unionists who bankroll the DNC and their pro-abortion, anti-Christian platforms, and George W. Bush is supposed to be sad about this?"

Those are Americans, your countrymen. Try to open your eyes and be a bit less dogmatic and reflexively anti-union when discussing the disaster that free trade has been for many of our citizens.

[Texas_Dawg]

What's more, there is a good case to be made--especially when it comes to those things that are most important--that America's standard of living has declined over the past thirty-years.

Definitely not the case for my family or anyone I know. Maybe in MilitiaLand I guess, but very few people I know want to live in underground bunkers hiding from satellites and shadow governments.

[Texas_Dawg]

Those are Americans, your countrymen.

Haha. That's great. I'll just remind you of that next time you are ranting against Hillary Clinton and the radical gay rights movement folks. You know... your countrymen.

Free trade has been an overwhelming success for nearly all Americans, especially the poor who need prices to be as cheap as possible. It's the very poor that these leftist unions punish the most, by far.

[JustAnAmerican]

The big problem, as I see it anyway, is that politicians no longer care what the American people think, nor for that matter do some Corps. and small businesses. It's all about who can make the most money and screw the most people while doing so. We need to make this election cycle a big wake up call for these idiots.

Start a grass roots campaign to inform the general population what is going on. Start more recalls, it's time to give the trash the boot. It's abvious at this point they don't care what the American Taxpayer(Employees) think. For my part I will be out with nice little signs in from of these idiots homes and places of business, and so as to stay withing the laws I will be doing the following.

In front of businesses that I know hire illegals a sign that reads "This company "Allegedly" hires illegals instead of Americans, to save money"(notice that little piece of legal mumbo jumbo:)

For those that support Outsourcing at the cost of American jobs, something like. "XXX American workers just lost their jobs because this company and others like it decided to give those jobs to non-Americans in order to save money". Since it's money over Americans that these idiots care about, lets just see how hard they scream when they start losing bunches of it.

[1Old Pro]

What are we talking about here when we speak of "manufacturing jobs"?? If it's mostly textiles it's all about labor costs. How many Americans are willing to work for minimum wage making sneakers AND are we losing anything by importing sneakers and clothing?

[Cacophonous]

...politicians no longer care what the American people think, nor for that matter do some Corps...

Big business long ago quit being American. They are now part of the glaobalist, one-world socialst agenda, and owe no allegiance to any flag.

[JohnGalt]

The onset of cheap credit, a by-product of free trade plus a fiat money system has radically changed the nature of American culture in almost every respect.

Only from the dogmatically restricted position that the ability to consume more equals better, do you get an automatic benefit.

Of course, there are benefits but there are unintended consequences in a free market social democracy (Third Way) environment.

Just think, if the government eliminated the income tax, it would have to live off the budget it had in 1987, and yet there is no serious effort afoot to repeal even 16 years of government.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

Lou Dobbs recently wrote about what you are saying:

"We need to reexamine how our trade policies have negatively affected our economy while boosting the economies of other nations.

We can no longer sustain a free-trade policy that does not insist on reciprocal, mutual benefits to both our economy and those of our trading partners. Globalization at any price is proving to be too high a price for this nation to pay."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/955238/posts

[Cacophonous]

You have a good point on the wages and the impacts of the unions and federal regulatory agencies. Adam Smith advocated tariffs to offset domestic taxes. I have no problem with that in principle, but would rather see taxes cut, and an easing of the regs and unions.

As far as which industries..."free trade" is impacting all of them, not just textiles. We import significant amounts of steel, commmunications equipment, electronics..many, many items that are vital to national security.

You would think that a group that calls itself conservative would at least favor protecting industries vital to national defense, but even that suggestion is hooted down.