[Jim W N]

Right, and I’m a Trump supporter.

FYI, in case you and/or others are interested, here’s my re-posted spiel on the trade thing which is a pretty big deal and if handled correctly could bring us roaring back to a robust and growing GDP...

Trump says we lose $500 billion a year in trade to China every year. But that is false and misleading. Our imports from China in 2015 totaled close to $500 Billion. He and the “trade deficit” folks call this a $500 billion LOSS. But of course it is not a loss because we traded dollars for goods.

Did I lose $100 when I bought my groceries the other day? Of course not. I got groceries for money. I didn’t LOSE when I paid for the groceries I needed. And what Trump is proposing is instead of me paying, say, $100 for goods from China, I’ll be forced to pay more, say, $200 for the same thing because of these tariffs (taxes) and protectionist measures.

Taxing imports to try to force companies to stay here doesn’t solve the problem. Everybody loses and the consumer now has to pay higher prices because the government has put a 35% tax on incoming goods.

The tax (tariff) doesn’t hurt Mexico (or any importing country) - the prices (“A”) are already contracted for between Mexican and U.S. distributors. Mexico only pays A. The tariff/tax (“B”) forces the costs of these goods to go higher as they enter our country forcing higher prices at the local distributor for the American consumer who has to pay for A PLUS B. So it’s the American consumer that is really paying for the wall and exited businesses in the form of higher prices forced upon them by these tariffs. Our tariffs directly injure the American consumer and, thus, the American economy.

So not only do tariffs not address the root causes of business moving out of America, they make matters worse. Trump needs to address the ROOT CAUSE of losing our businesses: the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The federal government has created an unfriendly business environment in the U.S. with boneheaded policies like

- minimum wage

- taxes

- regulations

- federal protection of unions

Again, the issue is the unfriendly American business environment and weak American competitiveness caused by the skyrocketing costs of doing business due to GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE like taxes, minimum wage, regulation, and unions. Address THAT and business will WANT to return/stay because of cost benefits.

Let the voluntary cooperation of the market economy free of government interference work. Don’t layer more government interference upon that which is the root cause to begin with.

[neverbluffer]

Isnt a trade deficit when we import more from China, then we export to them? If so, that is a problem regardless of whether we get dollars for goods. It is a trade imbalance in their favor which means they employ more people on their turf with our dollars!

[kabar]

I have been to China and seen the factories that make American and European products. They have the latest technology coupled with good, cheap, exploitable labor. The US industrial base is being eroded and we are losing good paying jobs. Our middle class is being decimated,

Our factories and jobs are being exported. The OECD, an organization of wealthy first-world countries, reports: “During the past three decades, the share of national income represented by wages, salaries and benefits–the labour share–has declined in nearly all OECD countries.” To explain this, it cited cheaper technology and a reduction in workers’ bargaining power.

How does an unemployed population buy the wonderful products robots and cheap foreign labor make? There’s a story that Henry Ford II escorted United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther around his new robotic assembly plant. “Walter,” said Ford, “How you gonna get union dues from these guys?” To which Reuther replied: “Henry, how you gonna get these guys to buy your cars?”

[dragnet2]

Hey Jim, ya think it’s a bit odd government controls everything, taxes, regulates everything, is in everyone’s business, then ya look south to the borders and it’s totally an unregulated, untaxed violent chaotic free for all? Hmmmm.

Did it occur to you the big dollar corrupt fat corps that run off to cheap labor Chinaland et al, support all these regulations, taxes and controls for their competitors back home?

[Fhios]

Missing like a whole lot of stuff in the middle.

Dollars going out vs goods coming in is a loss in many ways.

It’s a loss in U.S commerce, employment, taxes and of course the money leaves the country and enriches others.

You can’t sustain a negative imbalance forever. You simply run out of money and all you are left with are kitchen appliances.