Posted on 03/25/2006 8:07:17 PM PST by ncountylee
One thing I would like is to see Wal-Mart push prices down in places like Southern California where supposed competators (I'm thinking grocery stores as an example) now keep things artificially higher than in other markets.
Is "slave labor" in Pakistan/India/Bangladesh killing the textile industry? Is "slave labor" in Mexico the reason why Philco and Zenith aren't big US television manufacturers anymore? "Slave labor" is a smoke screen, just like the "Anglo-Saxon economic model" is in a certain European country. Americans are not the only people in the world who can make televisions and socks that many of these same Americans will be willing to buy. That's a fact of life. Different people may like different tariffs, often depending on their line of work, but it's not much different from government spending. One group benefits while everyone else gets screwed.
If Corporate America can't import cheap crap from the Far East tariff free, then they'll have to raise American wages to a) afford their products, or b) make their products here. And of course, that means the CEO only earns millions instead of tens of millions. Can't have that.
...unlike with gasoline, right?
Who protected the buggy whip industry?
Who protected Chrysler?
Drama queen.
"Why should they attack us when we're their best customer?"
im sure that's exactly what clinton was thinking when he gave away our nuclear secrets.
What role do you want the government to play in this economy?
The reference to your car was just to make a point about protectionism and how it doesn't work.
Had you addressed what was states in both the original article and the Reagan radio address, you'd see that protectionism as it's being applied by the majority on this thread is a dishonest way of applying their real goal - destroying their enemy.
If you believe China is our enemy, then attack them politically or militarily, but don't subvert American ideals by hiding behind the skirt of "saving US jobs".
Do you realize how utterly ironic in an appalling sense your comment is?
You agree with Tariffs to keep American products competitive?
That is the height of ridiculous absurdity.
I think what you meant to say was: American products are so vastly uncompetitive, that we should slap tariffs on imported goods so that Joe MetalStamper can keep making 40 $/hr wages plus meds and pension...
What you really meant to say was: "I agree with tariffs; lets tax all imported goods and drive up the cost for American consumers and discourage the emerging global economy from doing business with us. This will create American jobs and encourage third world $hit holes to pay their labor force more.
What the hell are you smoking?
Very Cindy Sheehan for you to drag in the body of a dead Airborne Ranger into this discussion to shame us, but I don't appreciate it. Make your argument, but please don't use pictures of our infantry dead to make your point about imposing tariffs.
Well, not to burst your bubble but I happen to live through some of that protectionism. When you went to the buy a pair of shoes you didn't get much choice. You got the protected brand. The rest were too high so they weren't stocked. then the protected brand increased the price to slightly under the others. A good pair of shoes in the 40's and 50's cost a lot of money.
Rush is mentioned a lot in this thread, but he also says, "if we had protected buggy whip makers, we would still be making buggy whips."
I haven't decided.
I believe strongly in free enterprise and consider myself Republican-voting libertarian on most issues.
However I have spent some time in China, and frankly am more than a bit worried, by the naivety I see here among my own countrymen and women, about that nation.
History is repeating itself. Once, long ago, Britain was in our position - China was draining the British treasury with inexpensive quality exports. Britain responded with opium, and a war ensued.
Current trends are *all* in China's favor. We are slowly but clearly losing our capability to make things. To design things. To create. To work. To save. And to learn.
China is replacing us.
And we squabble philosophical arguments, about whether it's fair or not. Whether we should stop the process before we have entirely forgotten how to do ANYTHING anymore.
That part I'm pretty clear on.
We need to stop the damage first.
The political arguments can come later.
Ridiculous, maybe, but try being an American business getting your things sold in China.
We can, and I personally do, avoid buying Chinese. But the truth is: CHEAP LABOR = CHEAP PRODUCT. Even if it is a quality item, does that justify such grim working conditions/pay in China/Japan/Korea/India/Taiwan/etc...?? Does it justify saving a few bucks while three or more of your friends get laid off?
To me it is simple. I remember as recently as thirty years ago, Heathkit TVs my dad built from kits, all American made. Our first Console TV was a Heathkit. Twenty years it lasted.
Soon you couldn't buy Heathkit or an American Magnavox. You would be hard-pressed to identify the ONE electronic item in my home made in the U.S.A. Not to mention furniture and clothing or food.
I've bought three vacuums and two microwaves in the last year. All Chinese. Like I had a choice, under $200.
I'm for tariffs... as in ZERO TARIFFS. Why tax citizens more? All tariffs and trade restrictions create are black markets. We have to compete with the world. Our industries should move into what we can do best. The currencies will equalize out -- unless the Chinese want to collect our paper dollars along with our baseball cards. If the Chinese want to use free slave labor to support our lavish life style of buying electronic gear for 1/2 off, so be it.
When it comes to defense goods, that's another story. When it comes to moving goods in and through our harbors and airports, that should be done by native born American labor because of security concerns.
"However I have spent some time in China, and frankly am more than a bit worried, by the naivety I see here among my own countrymen and women, about that nation."
please elaborate a bit, share your experiences.
Why shouldn't they attack us if and when we cease to be their best customer?
Unless that's never going to happen, giving them the means to attack us seems like a bad idea.
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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