Wal-Mart profit misses forecast; outlook weak

cnn.netscape ^ | May 12, 2005 | Reuters

[Toddsterpatriot]

cowtowing

Is that what you do when your cow has a flat?

dodgma

Is that when your mother is a car?

[HIDEK6]

so they'd make their unjust billions by selling Chinese goods to the sheeple while putting mom and pop shops out of business and not giving their own employees adequate healthcare.

Where's that picture of the Brylcreme guy saying, "Jeez, not this s*** again," when you really need it.

[agere_contra]

is of course ludicrous

You should probably explain why Free Trade is, of course, ludicrous. Unpack your ideas a bit :0)

If American jobs are getting hosed by outsourcing then America is still getting wealthier, by getting the same goods and services for less. More wealth means more jobs, not less. There's an uncomfortable period of transition, granted. But if what you are doing isn't competitive in the world market then you are either looking for a new job or you've living in a pampered, tariff-protected industry. Which is like living off welfare.

[Squawk 8888]

In the real world, authoritarians crush resistance to their rule.

And we all know how successful the tactic was in Poland, Hungary, Czech, East Germany and South Korea.

[Mase]

That's only because its been added to the mantra

Without any cause or effect to make it happen?

Prior to the 1980s free trade was not remotely defacto a conservative principle, and it is not a conservative princple today

Can you think of one economic measurement that demonstrates how we are not better off now than we were in 1980?

There is absolutely NOTHING conservative about multinational trade arrangements that supersede sovereignty

Perhaps you'd like to name one and tell us exactly how our sovereignty is being superceded.

[agere_contra]

Just reading through those links. This one is particularly good. An excerpt:

Hong Kong is a good example of how complete free trade can lead to prosperity. That British colony was just as poor as the rest of China, and was still suffering the effects of war and the Japanese occupation, when communists took over the mainland in 1949. The city, with no natural resources, had complete free trade. And today, while China still is poor, Hong Kong has the living standard of an industrialized country.

[bfree]

Freedom is wonderful. People should be allowed to shop where they wish. No one here is saying you should shop there, but a handful do wish to dictate to others that they shouldn't shop there and that is the sole point.

[Mase]

If American jobs are getting hosed by outsourcing then America is still getting wealthier, by getting the same goods and services for less. More wealth means more jobs, not less.

Hit the nail square on.

Here is a good article that explains this in depth should HJ bother to read it.

Bruce Bartlett: Outsourcing Myths Debunked

From the article:

for every $1 spent by a U.S. corporation on outsourcing to India, only 33 cents stayed in India. The other 67 cents came back to the U.S. in the form of cost savings, new exports, and repatriated profits. However, productivity gains add another 45 to 47 cents of value to the U.S. economy. Thus, on balance, the U.S. economy gains $1.12 to $1.14 for every $1 invested in outsourcing.

Ten Myths About Jobs and Outsourcing (Heritage Foundation again)

[ARCADIA]

Reagan was not in favor of unfettered international trade.

It is one thing to be in favor of a free markets capitalistic system, but international trade is anything but a free market. It is entirely dependent on political favors, monetary policy, and regulatory arbitrage. Dumping is not the kind of competition envisioned in the capitalistic model, and treason is not an acceptable form marketable labor. I hope that we can move beyond the buzz words and look instead at how these global "free markets" actually function. Are winners and losers still determined by consumers? or by our legislatures. Based on the dollars going into lobbying efforts, I would suggest that the latter is increasingly the case.

[Mase]

Hong Kong is a good example of how complete free trade can lead to prosperity

One thing protectionists (actually, there are many) can be counted on is to deny there is any correlation to economic freedom and the creation of wealth.

Hong Kong is a perfect example of economic freedom leading to prosperity and they are (again) number one in The Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom.

2005 Index of Economic Freedom

[explodingspleen]

An embargo is just protectionism with arbitrarily high tariffs.

And if you understand why having trade at all is intrinsically beneficial, you should understand why having untaxed trade is intrinsically beneficial.

[ARCADIA]

But if what you are doing isn't competitive in the world market then you are either looking for a new job or you've living in a pampered, tariff-protected industry. Which is like living off welfare.

The only tariff protected industries in the U.S. are:
1) Public sector employment (much of it unionized)
2) Healthcare (benefits from import bans, subsidized by an endless stream of public tax dollars)
3) Banking (publically underwritten by your tax dollars)
4) Insurance (mandatory consumption, public underwriting)
5) Legal (only US licensed lawyers may practice in US courts)
6) Agriculture (farm aid, importation bans, favorable export agreements)

So the only real slugs have to be in those groups.

So what are you doing about those:
- should we kill off Fannie Mae? and the FDIC
- Do we end medicaid, medicare, perscription benefits, etc..?
- Do we internationalize the legal system and burn the constitution?
- Do we end farm aid, and food import bans?
- Do we end mandatory liability insurance, and just operate at our own risk?

I would even bet that we could hire five Chinese army divisions for what we are spending for one of ours. Why don't outsource our military, and most of our policemen and firefighters too?

So lets hear it: how many of thes slugs do you really want to go after? National borders no longer matter right?

[Toddsterpatriot]

3) Banking (publically underwritten by your tax dollars)

How is banking publicly underwritten?

[Toddsterpatriot]

We all know Walmart jobs pay better than the US Manufacturing industry they almost single handedly put out of business.... :-\

WalMart sold $288 billion dollars worth of goods last year. How did they eliminate US Manufacturing which still produces about $2 trillion in goods each year?

[ARCADIA]

How is banking publicly underwritten?

FDIC insurance allows you to run the bank with virtually zero reserves. Then there is a Federal Reserve to provide a continuous source of liquidity, and a mortgage mechanism to underwrite many loans. You can imagine what banking would be like if liquidity were based exclusively on private funds, and if depositors had to weigh the real risk of banking with your institution.

[superiorslots]

Quote: Or, more consumers running out of steam.

Bingo Ding Ding Ding. Those Credit cards are maxxed out and they have no more equity left in their house..and their manufacturing job is outsourced or they have been layed off.

We'll see more of this.

[Fledermaus]

Oh geez, not the old liberal talking points on Wal-Mart! Do you think for yourself or just read what "they" tell you?

Mom and Pa businesses my butt! This is a ridiculous canard full of nothing but ancedotes applied with a large brush.

[superiorslots]

Quote: The PRC will be very unhappy that Chairman Mao's General Store profits are low.

No they won't. It means walmart will put even more pressure on their suppliers to go over to china and set up factories.

[Toddsterpatriot]

FDIC insurance allows you to run the bank with virtually zero reserves.

So the reserve requirement is virtually zero? Would you have a link?

Then there is a Federal Reserve to provide a continuous source of liquidity, and a mortgage mechanism to underwrite many loans. You can imagine what banking would be like if liquidity were based exclusively on private funds

We tried that out during the Depression. Didn't work too well. You wanna go back to that?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Bingo Ding Ding Ding. Those Credit cards are maxxed out and they have no more equity left in their house

That's right. Americans only have 56% equity in their homes. That's almost zero, right slots?