“It always amazes me that the tariff/protectionist crowd what to the fix the problem that was caused by the government instituting useless regulations and high taxes by having the government create more useless regulations and even higher taxes.”
Facts are facts. The standard of living and average household income of the average American in inflation adjusted dollars is below 1990 levels when the “free trade” experiment began under GHW Bush. The consumer products industrial infrastructure is gone. Empty factories do not employ people nor do they buy component parts and raw materials from other producers. Entire supply chains have disappeared and with it our industrial infrastructure to fight another major war on the scale of WWII.
If free trade is so good, who benefited from the last 20 years of free trade and deindustrialization? The Chinese, Wall Street, and the top 1%. Not the average American worker and certainly not the middle class.
For those who blame loss of American competitiveness on unions, spend some time driving around NC, SC, Georgia, and Alabama looking at all of the empty non-union factories in decimated small towns.
I’d rather have the prosperity of the Reagan years when we had higher tariffs and US made products, than the jobless misery of today’s economy and cheap Chinese goods.
So basically it is your contention that because a so-called "free trade" agreement was enacted in the late 80s/early 90s that it is responsible for empty factories in the USA.
It wasn't excessive taxation and ridiculous over regulation by the government with things like EPA regs that say you can't build somewhere that might be a wetlands without massive amounts of litigation and haggling when the EPA can declare any mud puddle a wetland?
Or OSHA standards that say every workstation in your plant must be wheel chair accessible even though the work required would be impossible for someone in a wheel chair due to the need of leverage only a set of human legs can provide, but that doesn't matter so you still have to pay for the infrastructure to comply with this idiotic rule?
Or the need to have 2 or 3 people (Or more) dedicated solely to administering and instituting a Health Plan that the Union has forced through because they have that power given to them by the Federal Government not to mention the huge cost of paying for a plan.
Or having to employ countless lawyers accountants and book keepers to comply with the endless tax regulations forced on a business located in the USA by the Federal Government the State and the Municipality?
Or Dealing with a Union that the Government sez has the right to strike because they want to and must submit to Government run negotiations and even when the government sez they are in the wrong they still have the right to continue the strike and send the business into receivership? (See the Hostess strike for details)
But none of these things are the real culprit instead in your mind it is a Trade deal that reduces the red and promotes trade between Nations?
Do you understand why most people who have run businesses look at you union loving protectionist yahoos as "useful idiots" for furthering the leftist/progressive cause?