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Protectionist Rhetoric Will Accelerate the Dollar's Slide
Ludwig von Mises Institute ^ | 11/20/2007 | David Leo Veksler

Posted on 11/29/2007 7:11:00 PM PST by LowCountryJoe

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To: investigateworld
And never forget, Karl Marx was a free trader.

And he also believed in a graduated income tax. Please tell us why you are against free trade. Because it will prevent home ownership or because it will prevent $20 dollar and hour tradesmen?

Since it will do neither I'm anxious to hear from you.

361 posted on 12/01/2007 11:39:51 AM PST by groanup (When companies fail they go out of business. When a gov't project fails it gets bigger. M.F.)
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To: Hunterite
Doesn’t matter what Walmart’s profit margin is, if they aren’t a manufacturer.

Yeah, you're right. Might as well drive that profit to zero, since there would be no impact if WAL-MART went away....

It's not like they have 1.8 MILLION employees to pay. At an average wage of $10 per hour, 40 hours a week, that's only $37 BILLION in wages paid to American workers.

But your right, you with an admitted complete lack of economics knowledge. Those 1.8 MILLION people and their $37 BILLION dollars in direct compensation to our economy mean nothing...

362 posted on 12/01/2007 11:42:47 AM PST by PugetSoundSoldier (Tagline: Kinda like a chorus line but without the legs)
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To: Hunterite
American consumer buys Widget X because it costs 1% less, now the Americans are out of business.

Do you think anyone would actually make a decision as to what to buy based upon a 1% price differential? Or would quality come into play? Does Toyota sell a lot of Camry's because they are cheaper than Chevy Malibus, or because they are better cars? Why does BMW sell anything in this country given their pricing is much higher than most American cars? How about Sony? Why do they sell well in America? I'd love to buy an American-made TV that had the same quality as a Sony. Unfortunately, I don't think there is one. Sounds like a great opportunity for an American business man to fill a void that is sorely needed.
363 posted on 12/01/2007 11:43:49 AM PST by VegasCowboy ("...he wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel.")
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To: Hunterite
If not traitor then how about unAmerican? Or jerk? How about ahole? Accusing American citizens of being the most inefective nonproductive workers on the planet.

Well you just made yourself look foolish. Why am I not surprised?

Elitist punks. Get off your cotton plantation once in your life.

Do you think your company or the world owes you a living? I'm betting for 40 hours a week you add something productive to society. After that you don't. Do you know why companies offshore as much as they can?

Taxes

Regulation

Litigation

Union pay scales.

364 posted on 12/01/2007 11:44:54 AM PST by groanup (When companies fail they go out of business. When a gov't project fails it gets bigger. M.F.)
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To: All

Its a big mystery how 2.2 million Union soldiers can fight AND HATE 1 million rebel soldiers, and kill off 600,000 in the process. And the vast majority didn’t really care whether or not slavery is moral or not.

Brother against brother. Father against father. Its a real big mystery to you free-traders, isn’t it. You guys don’t have a clue what drives people to kill, or vote. Maybe you guys need to be taken out of the Republican decision making process, how about it.


365 posted on 12/01/2007 11:48:42 AM PST by Hunterite
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To: groanup
Let's define terminology first. What's passing for "Free Trade" is actually the practice of labor arbitrage, or the hunt for the lowest pay anyone in the world will get by on.

However in the classical sense of free trade such as between US and Canada, Australia ... some is fine, always keeping our defense industry in mind.

I do make an exception for New Zealand as they pi** and moan about our nuke armed ships, thus should pay series and hugh duties on products they ship here.

Obviously as China is the lead dog right now, and have shown they can shoot down our spy satellites, it is insane to continue to do bidness with them.

(It's still an ugly world out there)

366 posted on 12/01/2007 11:49:27 AM PST by investigateworld ( Those BP guys will do more prison time than many convicted Japanese war criminals ...thanks Bush!)
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To: VegasCowboy
That assumption requires you to believe that the same demand would exist for the imported product if it were produced at a much higher cost here in the US. I sincerely doubt that is the case.

THANK YOU! That is EXACTLY the case. The reason there are precious few loudspeaker manufacturers left in the US? Price. You simply cannot offer the products the consumer wants at the price the consumer wants to pay if you build it here.

So, you take the manufacturing to where you can do it for an appropriate price. And rather than having 15 mid-paid machinists on staff, I have 6 high-paid engineers.

I used to manufacture in the US; my headcount was higher back then, but the total payroll now is higher, and so is the total profitability of the company.

The economy here is better now, because more dollars flow into it than did before. It's amazing how many people consider the economy a zero-sum game!

367 posted on 12/01/2007 11:49:35 AM PST by PugetSoundSoldier (Tagline: Kinda like a chorus line but without the legs)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier

WAL-MART

******************

Your barking up the wrong tree if you expect me to bash Walmart like a Democrat. Or maybe you think you can entrap me into saying something like that.

I already told you, Walmart is more of a warehouse then a manufacturer, international trade with 3rd world Communist corrupt cesspools has nothing to do with it.


368 posted on 12/01/2007 11:51:18 AM PST by Hunterite
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To: Hunterite
If not traitor then how about unAmerican? Or jerk? How about ahole? Accusing American citizens of being the most inefective nonproductive workers on the planet.

“OMG IT COSTS MUCH MORE IN AMERICA!”

Elitist punks. Get off your cotton plantation once in your life.

LOL! Good stuff. I never accused Americans of being ineffective or non-productive. On the contrary, I'm convinced America can prosper in a global economy due to our productive and effective workforce. Our capitalist system encourages entrepreneurs to fill voids and make quality products. I don't fear the loss of certain low paying, low skill jobs in this country because I can see all around me people prospering in highly-skilled, high paying jobs. I guess that makes me an "un-American, traitorous a-hole" for thinking this way.
369 posted on 12/01/2007 11:51:54 AM PST by VegasCowboy ("...he wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel.")
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To: VegasCowboy

American consumer buys Widget X because it costs 1% less, now the Americans are out of business.

*******************

“Do you think anyone would actually make a decision as to what to buy based upon a 1% price differential? Or would quality come into play? Does Toyota sell a lot of Camry’s because they are cheaper than Chevy Malibus, or because they are better cars? Why does BMW sell anything in this country given their pricing is much higher than most American cars? How about Sony? Why do they sell well in America? I’d love to buy an American-made TV that had the same quality as a Sony. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is one. Sounds like a great opportunity for an American business man to fill a void that is sorely needed.”

*********************

There you go again, splitting hairs, and mangling a perfectly good economic theoretical disgusion. I am well aware that price can be traded off with quality.


370 posted on 12/01/2007 11:52:49 AM PST by Hunterite
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To: groanup

Do you think your company or the world owes you a living?

***************

Do you think America owes you protection as a citizen?


371 posted on 12/01/2007 11:53:39 AM PST by Hunterite
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To: VegasCowboy

LOL! Good stuff. I never accused Americans of being ineffective or non-productive.

****************

Every chance you free-traders get you say, “Well would you prefer to buy American at a MUCH HIGHER COST?”

Much higher cost = unproductive lazy fat Americans. That is exactly what you are implying whether you like it or not.


372 posted on 12/01/2007 11:56:33 AM PST by Hunterite
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To: Hunterite
I am well aware that price can be traded off with quality.

So why do you fear low cost imports so much?
373 posted on 12/01/2007 11:56:56 AM PST by VegasCowboy ("...he wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel.")
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To: investigateworld
Obviously as China is the lead dog right now, and have shown they can shoot down our spy satellites, it is insane to continue to do bidness with them.

Well, I just bought a Chinese scooter for running errands because it was the cheapest, bets quality one I could find. The other brands, mostly Japanese, were almost twice as much. Remember when Japan could outproduce and outprice everybody?

374 posted on 12/01/2007 11:57:17 AM PST by groanup (When companies fail they go out of business. When a gov't project fails it gets bigger. M.F.)
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To: Hunterite
Widget X made with slave labor, costs 1% less then Widget Y. The jerks from Widget X jacked up their price and still manage to undercut Widget Y by 1%.

That's an outright lie. You are running purely on emotion not reason or facts. Buy a loudspeaker from Eminence Speaker in Eminence, KY, and tell them to use ONLY American sourced parts (something they don't do because of pricing).

I'll get the EXACT SAME loudspeaker from a factory in China or India. And even with the 5% import tariff AND price of shipping across the ocean, I'll beat the Eminence price by a factor of at least 2.

Then we'll take our loudspeakers to the local market, and see who sells out first, with the standard 50 point markup... You see, I can make 50 points selling at the same price that you PAID for your loudspeaker. I make profit, you make zero.

You have zero basis in reality, you're just a foaming-at-the-mouth protectionist, with not a clue about economics.

If you represent Hunter's actual trade position, then he's even more dangerous to the US than Ron Paul...

375 posted on 12/01/2007 11:58:16 AM PST by PugetSoundSoldier (Tagline: Kinda like a chorus line but without the legs)
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To: Hunterite
Do you think America owes you protection as a citizen?

Hell yes. I pay a hell of a lot of money for it too.

376 posted on 12/01/2007 11:58:36 AM PST by groanup (When companies fail they go out of business. When a gov't project fails it gets bigger. M.F.)
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To: groanup
Remember when China slipped in a few hundred thousand troops and slaughtered our guys?

The same commie rat b*stards still run the place.

377 posted on 12/01/2007 12:01:01 PM PST by investigateworld ( Those BP guys will do more prison time than many convicted Japanese war criminals ...thanks Bush!)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier

It’s amazing how many people consider the economy a zero-sum game!

***********************

“...a trade surplus implied that a country was exporting goods its own citizens did not get to consume or enjoy” Milton Friedman on why trade surpluses are bad and deficits are good (rolls eyes)

Gosh that sounds like a zero-sum game to me. What obtuse libertarian inconsistant hypocrites.


378 posted on 12/01/2007 12:02:51 PM PST by Hunterite
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To: Hunterite
I already told you, Walmart is more of a warehouse then a manufacturer, international trade with 3rd world Communist corrupt cesspools has nothing to do with it.

And here you show that you do not know of what you speak! WAL-MART is a chain who SPECIFIES PRODUCTS for their own stores. They are famous for bringing 5 manufacurers into the same conference room, showing a specification, and asking each manufacturer to bid RIGHT THERE to make that particular product.

WAL-MART doesn't just buy item X from manufacturer A, item Y from B, and so on. They ask manufacturers A, B, C and on to bid for the opportunity to make products to WAL-MART's standards.

Did you know that WAL-MART accounts for 3% of the total export of China? ONE COMPANY. If WAL-MART isn't funding China, then who is? You are COMPLETELY ignorant of the realities of today...

No use talking to you any more, you have no basis of facts, no logic, no desire to learn, and just live on hate and emotion. Much like the Moonbats on the left, I must point out...

379 posted on 12/01/2007 12:05:13 PM PST by PugetSoundSoldier (Tagline: Kinda like a chorus line but without the legs)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier

That’s an outright lie. You are running purely on emotion not reason or facts. Buy a loudspeaker from Eminence Speaker in Eminence, KY, and tell them to use ONLY American sourced parts (something they don’t do because of pricing).

********************

Whats the price of Eminence Speaker, and its relative quality?

Whats the price of your speaker, and its relative quality?


380 posted on 12/01/2007 12:05:59 PM PST by Hunterite
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