Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Idaho_Cowboy
By making the Chinese products contain the costs they don't include due to thier:
stealing of our trade secrets,
utilizization slave labour, and / or
disregard for even basic environmental standards
we could indeed "level the playing field".

Do we have too many restrictions in the US? Of course, and the should be eliminated. That wont solve the problem though. Not as long as we allow nations with less then dubious standard and Companies that operate within them to dump thier junk in our markets.

Will costs go up? Sure. But all we are doing now is getting cheap prices on cheap goods and effectively dumping our waste NIMBY ...

25 posted on 04/27/2012 7:56:52 AM PDT by An.American.Expatriate (Here's my strategy on the War against Terrorism: We win, they lose. - with apologies to R.R.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies ]


To: An.American.Expatriate
I can see the logic in that, but I also wonder how we are going to keep from simply driving the companies to Indonesia, South Korea, or whoever has the next batch of slave labor available. It's a good theory, but I don't see a way to match the tariff to the actual cost.

It also is clear that simply imposing a tariff on Chinese goods won't help America's Economy, especially in the short run. TANSTAAFL being immutable, it is the Chinese citizenry currently bearing those costs you mentioned.

The sad truth on the slave labor is like the sweatshops of the early industrial revolution, they do provide a better (only in the extreme relative sense of the word)existence than being out of work and starving to death. Our companies provide the cheapest foreign aid. It's thanks to American companies, among others, that wages and incomes have been rising in China. As the excess supply is employed the wage rises, but the adjustment process is slow.

They don't call it the dismal science for nothing.

26 posted on 04/27/2012 8:38:15 AM PDT by Idaho_Cowboy (Fight because its right, not because the odds are on your side.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson