[norwaypinesavage]

Ever since I became aware of things, some have been complaining of cheap foreign labor. First it was the Japanese, then the Taiwanese, then the Koreans, then the Chinese, etc. In each case, as the workers became more productive (in both cost and quality), they were worth more pay, and the "threat" from them lessened.

My Mom was not so lucky. When she was growing up, the wizards of smart in congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Protection Act to protect US workers from this cheap foreign labor. The result? Foreign governments passed reciprocal tariffs to stop cheap US imports. The result was The Great Depression. Thus, my mom, as a child, had to go to bed hungry many nights because her widowed mother could not find enough work to put food on the table.

Beware economic lightweights who think tariffs will solve foreign labor costs. President Kennedy had it right when he said (of the world economy): "A rising tide lifts all boats".

[impimp]

You are right. Unfortunately when it comes to trade I find my fellow freepers, on average, to be no more my ally than DUmmies and Huff post types.

[Elsie]

President Kennedy had it right when he said (of the world economy): "A rising tide lifts all boats".

 

 

 

In his memoir Counselor: A Life At The Edge Of History, Kennedy's speechwriter Ted Sorensen reveals that the phrase was not one of his or the president's own fashioning. It was in his first year working for Kennedy (during JFK's tenure in the Senate), when Mr. Sorensen was trying to tackle economic problems in New England, that he happened upon the phrase. He writes that he noticed that "the regional chamber of commerce, the New England Council, had a thoughtful slogan: 'A rising tide lifts all the boats.'" From then on, JFK would borrow the slogan often. Sorensen highlights this as an example of quotes mistakenly attributed to President Kennedy.^[5]

In his memoir Counselor: A Life At The Edge Of History, Kennedy's speechwriter Ted Sorensen reveals that the phrase was not one of his or the president's own fashioning. It was in his first year working for Kennedy (during JFK's tenure in the Senate), when Mr. Sorensen was trying to tackle economic problems in New England, that he happened upon the phrase. He writes that he noticed that "the regional chamber of commerce, the New England Council, had a thoughtful slogan: 'A rising tide lifts all the boats.'" From then on, JFK would borrow the slogan often. Sorensen highlights this as an example of quotes mistakenly attributed to President Kennedy.^[5]

[Elsie]

"A rising tide lifts all boats"

A falling tide grounds some of them.