Posted on 07/28/2003 6:36:40 PM PDT by RaceBannon
There has been a few threads on here where Free Trader enthusiasts have defended their view, and have been responded to by those who feel that Free Trade is not helping the American Economy, in fact, is part of the reason we are NOT going to see a great recovery any time soon.
I am one of the latter. The following is a cut and paste job, taken from my own comments on these threads, which I feel tell my side of the story.
Some of the points are repeatd, 3 and 4 times. That is because I feel they are the forgotten reasons and ideas why we are in what I believe are dire economic straits.
Feel free to comment.
It fits. He is their theoretical hero.
...showing that you didnt even read what I typed out....
It is you Free Traitors that are the communists, not me.
"But look at those American jobs going overseas," someone complained, "That's $200,000 that would have been spent doing the work here in the U.S."
"Wrong," this guy replied, "Because if the work had cost $200,000 to begin with, my client would never have hired us at all. It only made sense for them to upgrade their inventory control system because the cost was $75,000 and not $200,000."
In other words, the net effect on the U.S. labor pool was zero. The client wasn't going to have Americans do the work for $75,000 (because the U.S. market rate for the work was $200,000), he wasn't going to have Americans (or Russians, for that matter) do the work for $200,000 either (because the cost would have been prohibitive).
I don't know what the answer to anyone's long-term employment problem is, but this little exchange was a rare look at exactly how the whole dynamic of "outsourcing" works.
...proving TWICE...you didnt even read the post...
It is YOU FREE TRAITORS that are the Marxist supporters!
***yawn***
Qoute of the week!
It is YOU FREE TRAITORS that are the Marxist supporters!
Umm... zot TWICE?
Excerpted and condensed from:
Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries
of such Goods as can be produced at Home
"There seem, however, to be two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry...
As there are two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry, so there are two others in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation; in the one, how far it is proper to continue the free importation of certain foreign goods; and in the other, how far, or in what manner, it may be proper to restore that free importation after it has been for some time interrupted....
- The first is, when some particular sort of industry is necessary for the defence of the country....
- The second case, in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry is, when some tax is imposed at home upon the produce of the latter. In this case, it seems reasonable that an equal tax should be imposed upon the like produce of the former....
- The case in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation how far it is proper to continue the free importation of certain foreign goods is, when some foreign nation restrains by high duties or prohibitions the importation of some of our manufactures into their country. Revenge in this case naturally dictates retaliation, and that we should impose the like duties and prohibitions upon the importation of some or all of their manufactures into ours....
- The case in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation, how far, or in what manner, it is proper to restore the free importation of foreign goods, after it has been for some time interrupted, is, when particular manufactures, by means of high duties or prohibitions upon all foreign goods which can come into competition with them, have been so far extended as to employ a great multitude of hands. Humanity may in this case require that the freedom of trade should be restored only by slow gradations, and with a good deal of reserve and circumspection. Were those high duties and prohibitions taken away all at once, cheaper foreign goods of the same kind might be poured so fast into the home market as to deprive all at once many thousands of our people of their ordinary employment and means of subsistence. The disorder which this would occasion might no doubt be very considerable....
If corporations focus doggedly on sourcing from overseas, but negelect developing those markets themselves, then we have a problem. The ultimate goal is balanced trade, which 90% of the 'free trade' people neglect. What they promote is not free trade anyway.
I think if we have anything really resembling free trade we should pursue it. The agreements of "sourcing from overseas only" with the intent of merely importing should be abandoned.
Importing from overseas should have the focus and restrictions on business that promote development of overseas markets.
Its not the idea of sourcing, but the idea developing...Right now though its a rush to the bottom of the barrel, which sucks economically. They can cut costs like that but they are going to have a hell of a hard time adding $$$ to the top line like that. I want TOP LINE growth.
Geez, if you dorks of the far left and far right would learn that political, legal and economic philosophers do what they do because they can't make their way through the real world, your lives would make a whole hell of a lot more sense, and be lots more fun.
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