FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794
STOP BY A BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD (It's in the Breaking News sidebar!)
Posted on 07/07/2003 1:25:08 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
I saw your comments on manufacturing in the second-quarter Market Report in the June 20 Business Journal.
Most journalists and most economists and a lot of lawmakers just do not or cannot fathom that the $120 billion trade deficit with communist China is one of the major reasons for the steep decline of the homeland manufacturing economy and loss of more than 2 million jobs. I keep reading about sagging sales, skyrocketing health care costs, lack of government funding, waning consumer confidence, deflation fears, national accounting scandals, corporate greed and so on.
Recently, a brainy international business consultant even said the American consumer's love affair with low prices is responsible for the massive shift of manufacturing jobs overseas. This guy doesn't consider at all the cause and effect discipline. Remember "It's the economy, stupid!"? I would like to modify this and say "It's the free-trade agreements, stupid!"
There are other slave labor countries we buy stuff from and occasionally, due to ignorance, we pay $70 for a golf shirt and $150 for athletic shoes some name-brand supplier has made in sweatshops overseas. It looks like a 500 percent profit is needed to pay executive bonuses and throw many millions of dollars at the endorsement sports stars.
The Permanent Normal Trade Relations the United States has granted communist China has given them a free hand to break every rule of fair trade: disregarding copyright and patent laws, violating anti-dumping laws, pirating intellectual property, manipulating currency and so forth. The Chinese charge a tariff of up to 24 percent for U.S.-made products while the United States levies only up to 3 percent duty on products brought in from China.
The U.S. Department of Labor just announced that Wisconsin will receive more than $2.6 million in grants to assist workers who have lost their jobs to foreign trade. Ironically, first the government creates (i.e. legislates) these unfair trade situations resulting in severe hardships to employers and employees of our homeland manufacturing base, and then grants us a handout funded by tax dollars.
What we need is an even playing field for fair competition in trade with China and other low-wage countries.
It would be worthwhile to go to the Web site of SAM (Save American Manufacturing) at www.samnow.org.
WERNER WOLPERT
Hartford Area Development Corp.
Amerika has become a corrupt 'Pluralistic' country!!!
? a 'union' of vested 'interest'.....where?
:-(
You have not indicated the number of jobs lost due to this article, nor have you held forth that light rail is the answer to all our problems.
Please put Willie Green back where you found him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.