[Jim Noble]

I am a protectionist, and out of the closet.

International trade is only good insofar as it's good for Americans.

[gondramB]

I think the most worrying trend is having no great candidates and two Dems likely to cut and run while they raise taxes and spending.

But third is the hostility to free trade.

[shrinkermd]

"...So free trade is helping, not hurting, the American economy. Of course our economy changes over time (all economies do), and we have shifted from heavy industry to a more information-based service economy. But overall job growth has nevertheless been positive. USA Today reported recently that in Ohio, where Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton have strongly argued for protectionism, since Nafta took effect in 1994 there has been "a net gain of 900,000 jobs, including 60,000 in finance, 80,000 in professional services and almost 190,000 in health care." The Ohio Department of Development reports that 283,500 of its state workers currently earn their living in the export sector.

[shrinkermd]

"...So free trade is helping, not hurting, the American economy. Of course our economy changes over time (all economies do), and we have shifted from heavy industry to a more information-based service economy. But overall job growth has nevertheless been positive. USA Today reported recently that in Ohio, where Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton have strongly argued for protectionism, since Nafta took effect in 1994 there has been "a net gain of 900,000 jobs, including 60,000 in finance, 80,000 in professional services and almost 190,000 in health care." The Ohio Department of Development reports that 283,500 of its state workers currently earn their living in the export sector.

[hosepipe]

Socialism is a protection racket as fully as any Mafia scam.. The Mafia made a very good living out of bilking the poor and middle class.. Socialism supports many many bureaucrats.. and those that work for them.. and is a rakey..

Socialism is a scam that saves you from "THEM".. the very threat is the savior.. and its all cause by democracy..
---------------------------------

Democracy is the road to socialism. Karl Marx

Democracy is indispensable to socialism. The goal of socialism is communism. V.I. Lenin

The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism.- Karl Marx

[Biblebelter]

Free trade is working. We run a huge huge deficit and send lots of money out of the country. Politicians of both parties spend money they do not have as to buy their incumbency. Not to worry, the money that we sent out of the country comes back in the country when it is parked in government securities created to finance the debt. The money we send out comes back, thanks to the wisdom of the politicians who keep spending money we do not have, but not only are they buying their incumbency with the people’s money they do not have, they are giving are enemies the safest place on earth to park their money. This system works like a well oiled machine. What is all the fuss about?

[shrinkermd]

Left for dead, manufacturing cries out for workers
Minneapolis Star and Tribune ^ | 9 Marcg 2008 | DEE DePASS,

Posted on 03/10/2008 5:47:55 PM CDT by shrinkermd

...That’s the word from Gov. Tim Pawlenty and companies across the state who met late last week at a series of roundtables to brainstorm about how to attract and prepare reluctant young workers to what in many cases remains a high-paying field.

The governor, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and MnSCU hosted roundtables in Rochester, Brainerd and South St. Paul to discuss potential solutions to the widespread problem.

...According to DEED, manufacturing accounts for 11 percent of all job vacancies in the state, second only to health care. There were 6,527 manufacturing jobs open in the second quarter of 2007, the most recent period for which data are available.

David Berg, owner of South St. Paul Steel Supply Co., said his company is now offering to pay for two years of tuition at St. Paul Technical College, which has a welders program. Skilled welders can snag $50,000 salaries.

The dearth of skilled job applicants is hampering Minnesota’s growth and competitiveness, Pawlenty said. Domaille Engineering in Rochester could easily double the size of its fiber optics plant but can’t find enough workers, he added.

[Last Dakotan]

It would have been so easy to keep free trade healthy and growing. All they had to do was make it reciprocal.

Free trade, the freedom and economic growth it represented was killed by Asian merchantilism.

[investigateworld]

So the good news is that America's international trade is constantly increasing. U.S. exports grew 12% in 2007, and the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that since the first General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade, in 1948, U.S. total trade as a percentage of gross domestic products has risen to more than 29% in 2007 from less than 10%. According to a Heritage Foundation study "The U.S. is the world's largest exporter. U.S. exports amounted to $1.6 trillion in 2007 alone and those ...

O.K. - I'm confused - and I admit it. It has long been a mantra amongst the Free Trade crowd that the 40's and 50's and so forth boom times, were due to the devastation of WW2.

But if this article was correct 10% was the number on our exports in 1948?

Anyone?