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Arguments Against Free Trade Are Deeply Flawed
Townhall.com ^ | April 8, 2016 | Jonah Goldberg

Posted on 04/08/2016 5:51:08 AM PDT by Kaslin

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To: Uncle Miltie

Money manipulation (devaluation), strictly forbidden by our trade deals, doesn’t create wealth, rather it creates an uneven playing field by making foreign imports into a country more expensive.


61 posted on 04/08/2016 8:19:54 AM PDT by JonPreston
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To: Kaslin
Your opinion on free trade is highly dependent on your likelihood of losing your job to a foreign country.

If you are a government bureaucrat or a opinion columnist, your main economic interest in free trade is the continuation of the gravy train of cheap consumer goods.

I'll take the opinion of someone who actually makes something of value over the above.

62 posted on 04/08/2016 8:21:49 AM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: baltimorepoet

He didn’t study slave trade as far as I know. But he could have .He studied trade and economics. He is THE expert on the subject from conservative/libertarian point of view.

Marx would not have been a fan.

But, my opinion: Every single country we trade with is going to have practices that we hate, that we despise, religions we find unacceptable, leaders who are corrupt. Our job us to make life better for Americans not Malaysians or any of our trading partners. That’s up to the people of Malaysia and the rest.

Protectionism helps politically connected industries be more competitive. The unions favor it and so does Bernie, Hillary and Donald. But the net result is that it lowers the standard of living of every American.

Doubt that if you like, but it is nevertheless true. And it is your standard of living I’m talking about.


63 posted on 04/08/2016 8:21:57 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: Uncle Miltie

I knew it wouldn’t be long before the Free Traitor™ trash showed up on this thread.


64 posted on 04/08/2016 8:22:46 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: InterceptPoint

LOL. So you would sell Nazi Germany more cattle cars for the Holocaust. How about if a country starts selling the organs taken from executed political prisoners? Should we buy those, too?

How many pieces of silver would you sell out for?

As for the American standard of living, each “fake free trade” agreement signed leads to where we are now.

As for the TPP, if that gets signed into law, then perhaps it is time for to withdraw consent to be governed and fall back on the cartridge box.


65 posted on 04/08/2016 8:31:23 AM PDT by baltimorepoet
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To: BfloGuy

That imbalances in trade create debt is one of the biggest economic fallacies in existence.
++++
Of course it is. But it is near gospel here at FR.

Teaching Freepers economics is very much like beating your head against the wall. Like Trump, they “Know So Much” but often have no clue as to what they don’t know. Trade policy falls in the latter group. It’s all seat of the pants. It’s all Follow the Pied Piper.


66 posted on 04/08/2016 8:34:54 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: Last Dakotan
Your opinion on free trade is highly dependent on your likelihood of losing your job to a foreign country.

Or, in my case, the likelihood of Donald Trump placing a 35% tariff on Ford F-150's. But hey, that's just specifics.

67 posted on 04/08/2016 8:36:07 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: baltimorepoet

As for the American standard of living, each “fake free trade” agreement signed leads to where we are now.
++++
Free Trade Agreement take about 1 page. I’ve never seen one and don’t expect to. I’m not arguing for TPP or anything like it. I’m arguing against adding taxes to an over-taxed American population with tariffs of any sort.

I assume “Free Trade Agreements” are mostly just agreements on tariffs and quotas with some Save the Earth From Global Warming stuff thrown in. I’m against them all. They all hurt us.


68 posted on 04/08/2016 8:42:47 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: 1rudeboy

“Free trade” is just another scam of the big-government/big-legal criminal complex.

So how long have you been a partner in your law firm?


69 posted on 04/08/2016 8:53:08 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum ("If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it." --Samuel Clemens)
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To: Uncle Miltie

Again, monetary devaluation doesn’t create wealth, rather it makes US exports more expensive. It’s practiced by most of our trading partners, making them protectionist, and us saps. As to why America doesn’t devalue the $USD, ask Janet Yellen.


70 posted on 04/08/2016 8:56:04 AM PDT by JonPreston
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

You mean, how long have I been a machine operator in an auto parts factory just outside of Detroit? Piss off.


71 posted on 04/08/2016 9:05:43 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: InterceptPoint

On the last, we agree upon!


72 posted on 04/08/2016 9:20:30 AM PDT by baltimorepoet
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To: 1rudeboy

“Free trade” is used all the time by politicians, so I assume they use the term to deceive people.

Free trade is one of those things, that I would content exists only be degree. Like any theory, even if the theory is correct, the benefits will decrease the more you deviate from the perfect implementation of the theory.

Free trade within the 50 states is good, but mainly because the gap between states is not as big as the gap between the US and the countries that employ slaves, such as Malaysia. There is some wiggle room between the states; e.g. unions or no unions, so there is room for some experimentation.


73 posted on 04/08/2016 9:28:26 AM PDT by baltimorepoet
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To: baltimorepoet
There used to be a time, back in the Reagan era, when "free trade" meant "I tax you 0%, and you tax me 0%."

The term has gone through so many permutations since that it is almost meaningless.

74 posted on 04/08/2016 9:31:39 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Yup.


75 posted on 04/08/2016 9:32:40 AM PDT by baltimorepoet
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To: JonPreston

“you tell me whether we have to add or subtract a zero to manipulate the dollar into massive wealth”

Still waiting for your most excellent answer.


76 posted on 04/08/2016 9:37:01 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (No vote has been changed due to an FR post in about 2 months. Chillax.)
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To: Kaslin
I'm more perplexed about where liberals -- and in Bernie Sanders' case, socialists -- are coming from.

Simple enough - while conservatives want a private American capitalist economic sandbox, liberals don't believe in capitalism at all, much less individuals and companies from different countries actually trading with each other and making (horrors) a profit.

77 posted on 04/08/2016 9:41:41 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: BfloGuy

“How are you going to do that? “

I don’t know. That’s the major problem with my idea.

Regarding the trade deficit, suppose we bought from China and China never bought from us. The only thing China would be getting from us would be money. It doesn’t matter whether the money was borrowed by the Americans to do the buying. The Chinese end up with a pile of money. That money gives them power. They could spend the money buying our products and services, or they could spend it in other countries, or they could use it to buy properties in America. Overall, not good.


78 posted on 04/08/2016 9:42:53 AM PDT by cymbeline
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To: 1rudeboy
Or, in my case, the likelihood of Donald Trump placing a 35% tariff on Ford F-150's. But hey, that's just specifics.

You've got to stop typing and drinking at the same time. Nobody knows what you are talking about.

79 posted on 04/08/2016 9:52:56 AM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: Last Dakotan

I sense your frustration. Much like how I feel about low-information Trump supporters.


80 posted on 04/08/2016 10:06:14 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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