But you get my drift. I didn't lie that is what I read - but even if the article I read was incorrect - the premise is still the same. It is suicidal to attempt to be the world's consumer and export elite technology. Well, guess what, we are now importing some of those elite technologist and guess what, there are intelligent people around the world that can do any job any American can do - so what happens when the elite technological jobs are gone. Are we going to just be the masters? - masters of what? a wasteland. Do you think when these rulers get the factories, their export system, their customers in line they are going to continue to allow American tech companies to continue to make the lion's share of profit on this? Pie in the sky thinking.
[The 'free' in free trade refers to free from government restriction. With respect to government interference in trade there are two directions you can go. More freedom, or more government (essentially political) control. Which economies do best?]
But you see, what you have is interference and more interference - and therefore, less freedom. What you have is just the preaching of free trade - not the fact.
Now when and if we ever have free trade, we should discuss it - until then we have to discuss what we have. Which is sending all our jobs overseas, taxing the remaining workers to oblivion (either income tax, property tax or whatever) - then we import a lot of skilled and skilled workers. Yes sir. That is free trade and no government interference isn't it?
Yes, we need to be free to compete but we are not. Our government is building factories for them - then giving them foreign aid - and we are buying their products. That's the way I want to do business.
Another very dangerous point is the quality of the products we are buying. It is cheap, poor quality and doesn't last. The American worker is getting taken big time.
Like I said, when we have free trade - then let's discuss it - until then we are discussing only a theory - We do not even have a semblence of free trade.
I'm not arguing that our current arrangements represent absolutely, completely free trade. In fact, no one here has asserted that, so you can shelve that straw man for the moment.
As you've pointed out, we have interference, and more inteference as our current options. Therefore, more freedom, or less freedom. I'm solidly on the side of more freedom, which puts us in the direction of free trade. I don't expect we'll get there overnight, but we'll never get there by increasing government interference in the marketplace.
Which is sending all our jobs overseas, taxing the remaining workers to oblivion (either income tax, property tax or whatever) - then we import a lot of skilled and skilled workers. Yes sir. That is free trade and no government interference isn't it?
No, it's not, and it's entirely disingenous to try and label that mixed bag as "free trade". Jobs are not 'sent' overseas. They go there in response to marketplace demands, that is a tenet of free trade. 'Taxing workers to oblivion' or creating government subsidies is government interference in the market, and on the opposite end of the spectrum from free trade. Arguments against it are arguments FOR free trade.