You have never been able to frame an arguemnet 1rudeboy that goes beyond slogans and rhetoric. First off, and I am sure you have read this hundreds of times, restriction of immigration and tariffs are not Socialist in the least, and it is what this country did untill the Carter era. Sen. Taft, who was a conservatives conservative was no free trader for an example. Sadly the GOP has gone further way from mainstreet and has become closer to wall street. It seems like despte lip service to conservatives, the Nelson Rockefeller wing of the GOP has finally won.
As for tariffs, they are inherently socialist. Talk about slogans. You are, in effect, claiming that tariffs do not have socialist attributes because, well, they exist. LOL
BTW, I thought one needs rhetoric in order to argue. Talk about a slip.
Someone else wrote something on this thread that has forced me to revise my free traitor ways of thinking. It was something about being in a "caboose" and then pulling my head out...it was at that point that I really did get it.
Tariffs really are the way to go, ya know. It allows us to manipulate the market for a good in such a way so as to keeps domestic producers from having to find ways to cut costs or improve their products in order to retain customers. We even get a little cash to the treasury to boot - that's why I prefer them over import quotas. And, it's not like the consumers are really feeling it, shoot, it's not like they really notice the tiny amount that they're getting overcharged because it's spread out amongst 280 million people...in fact I wonder why every industry doesn't do this.
Now some may say that we'll face a retaliation by a former trading partner but I say let 'em retaliate. Because the less trade that happens the better off the domestic employers will be and we all know that that's where the jobs come from. And, we all know that American Made means absolutely the highest quality...so why share that with the rest of the world markets anyway; screw them if they retaliate.
OK, it is the government's responsibility to provide for the general welfare of our nation. I think that politicians should get involved in the planning and allocation of resources in our economy even more so than they do right now; they should be on equal footing with the private industries when it comes to guiding our economy through the capitalistic process - nothing could be less socialistic.
Finally, I am for less competition and ,consequently, less product choices - namely foreign crap! You free traitors can spring that product improvement argument on me all day long but you do remember the days when products were constructed heavier and more durable. Ahh yes, those were the days.
So you see, you really are better off because the old products are really an improvement over the newer ones. You get taxed less because of the tariff taking care of some of the costs to run government (even the asshat politicians who now have to calculate tariffs and other well intentioned measures). You get more American made products. And, what's better, you don't have to hear that giant sucking sound as you make a race for the bottom. Sure you may have less choices, have to spend a little more, have a little more central planning, less product improvement, less people with an abundance of human capital seeking whole new products and services to develop, less opportunity to invest capital to find the most gain/profit. And it's also better because there will be no unemployment because you'll be working your ass off at the textile mill cranking out garments just fast enough to clothe all the kids that will be going back to school in the fall - back to school to learn how to sew cloth, forge steel, assemble products, and greet customers on the telephone!!!