Patrick J. Buchanan Examines "The Slow Awakening of George W."

Washington Times ^ | 09-17-03 | Buchanan, Patrick J.

[Theodore R.]

The slow awakening of George W.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: September 17, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Last July, U.S. Trade Representative Bob Zoellick delivered a halftime pep talk to dispirited globalists, thrown on the defensive by the hemorrhaging of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

"What ... a surprise," Zoellick railed at his troops, "to see that the proponents of [free trade] ... have so often abandoned the debate to the economic isolationists and purveyors of fright and retreat."

But by September, Zoellick's own boss seemed to be drifting toward the camp of the "economic isolationists and purveyors of fright."

At a rally in Ohio, which has lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs since mid-2000, President Bush railed: "We've lost thousands of manufacturing jobs because production moved overseas. ... America must send a message overseas – say, look, we expect there to be a fair playing field when it comes to trade."

Yes, friends, at long last, we have their attention.

What's behind this radically revised presidential rhetoric? It is this: U.S. manufacturing jobs are vanishing, and unless he turns it around, Bush's presidency may vanish along with them.

The numbers are breathtaking. Manufacturing jobs have been disappearing for 37 straight months. Not since the Depression have we lost production jobs three years in a row. Since 2000, one in every six manufacturing jobs, 2.7 million, has disappeared. These jobs paid an average wage of $54,000.

Unfortunately for President Bush, while he has a good heart, he was horribly miseducated at Harvard. He simply cannot comprehend that it is free-trade globalism that is destroying U.S. manufacturing jobs, and may yet destroy his presidency.

The serial killer of manufacturing jobs is imports, which are now equal to almost 15 percent of GDP, four times the level they held between 1860 and 1960. What has caused this flood of imports? The trade deals that people like Robert Zoellick negotiate and George W. Bush celebrates.

Consider the numbers.

In July alone, the United States exported $86.1 billion in goods and services. But we imported $126.5 billion, for a trade deficit of $40.4 billion. The total trade deficit for 2003 is estimated at between $480 billion and $500 billion. But the deficit in goods will run closer to $550 billion.

The president's father and Bill Clinton contended that every $1 billion in exports created 20,000 jobs. Thus, a $550 billion trade deficit kills 11 million production and manufacturing jobs.

Say goodbye to blue-collar America.

What is the Bush prescription for curing this metastasizing cancer? In Ohio, he declared, "See, we in America believe we can compete with anybody, just so long as the rules are fair, and we intend to keep the rules fair."

How, Mr. President?

Consider the nation that runs the largest trade surplus with us. In July, we bought $13.4 billion in goods from China and sold China $2.1 billion. U.S. imports from China this year should come in around $160 billion, and U.S. exports to China at $25 billion.

We will thus buy 10 percent of the entire GDP of China, while she buys 0.25 percent of the GDP of the United States. Is this "fair trade"? But how does Bush propose to close this exploding deficit? How can he?

Where a U.S. manufacturing worker may cost $53,000 a year, a factory in China – with $53,000 and using the same machinery and technology as a U.S. factory – can employ 25 reliable, intelligent, hardworking Chinese at $1 an hour.

If you force U.S. businessmen to pay kids who sweep the floor a $5-an-hour minimum wage, while their rivals pay highly skilled Chinese workers $1 an hour, how do you square that with the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws?

Does the president, when he goes on about keeping "the rules fair," mean he will insist that China start paying its skilled workers $25 an hour and subject their factories to the same payroll taxes, wage-and-hour laws, OSHA inspections and environmental rules as ours?

Beijing will tell him to go fly a kite, Made in China.

It is absurd to think we can force foreign nations to accept U.S. rules and regulations on production and American standards on wages and benefits. And why should foreign nations comply, when – with their present policies and laws – they are looting our industrial base and walking away with our inheritance?

The men who have custody today of what was once the most awesome manufacturing base the world had ever seen are ideologues, impervious to argument or evidence. Like the socialists of Eastern Europe, zealots like Zoellick are beyond retraining. They are uneducable. They have to go. The sooner they do, the sooner we can get about rebuilding the self-sufficient and sovereign America they gave away.

[Tauzero]

"Every job 'saved' in a particular industry costs consumers."

Yes, but the costs are diffuse and less visible, compared to the competetive demise of industries, factories, and employment.

That diffusion is a good thing, in a representative republic.

[RLK]

Bush has the most inept cabinet since Carter but Bush picked them. His presidency needs a complete overhaul with a new team.

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The first step in the overhaul would be to send the Bushs back to that area from which they came.

[BMiles2112]

$35,000? It is still too much, the good salary in India or China is less than $10,000. Rasing the CEOs pay is another matter - it is an investment in the most productive individuals, it is never too high.
I get your point, but if it were simply a matter of direct comparison of wages from one country to another, wouldn't every single job in the US go straight to these countries? Companies move work overseas when it becomes a profitable move. Reducing the wages paid here would be an incentive for work to stay here. I don't care so much about CEO pay. There's only one of 'em per company. But its the same idea. If people decide to pay a CEO way more than he's worth, their company will suffer from their own stupidity, and a competing company will benefit from it.

[dogbyte12]

The average purchasing power of an american worker declined 0.3% in August, following a decline of 0.2% in July. Basically what this means is, that in June, a worker's salary could pay for 1000 widgets, now the same worker can afford 995.

It is only 1/2 of 1% but it is dramatic. If you lose a manufacturing job that pays $54,000 an hour, and take a $35,000 job like somebody here was suggesting, your net income has dropped by 35%. Is that what is going to happen in this country?

It is in effect. No manufacturing jobs, so the wife works, and the couple together earn what a manufacturing job would have paid and more, for one guy with the wife at home.

[RockyMtnMan]

Greed is a positive trait to Dawg not one that could be exploited as a weakness.

[A. Pole]

Was it Lenin or Stalin that said, "The capitalists will sell us the rope to hang them"?

Lenin. He introduced the NEP - New Economical Policy which cosisted of encouraging private business and foreign investment under Communist supervision. Stalin abandoned NEP and opted for strict state controls. Chinese Communists returned to the Lenin's plan. It works.

[Texas_Dawg]

However, they knew what would be required to make imposition of their insanity work.

It's funny how much you trust their logic.

[Gargantua]

"Protectionism only weakens our economy."

Right.

And since NAFTA and GATT were signed into law, my how the economy has flourished, huh?

Can you possibly be that thick? That blind?

;-/

[RLK]

This is a profoundly pro-export, anti-import strategy, and exactly the right medicine to address the hemorrhage of jobs.

------------------------

Unfortunately the treatment was successful, but the patient died.

[Texas_Dawg]

Greed is a positive trait to Dawg not one that could be exploited as a weakness.

I think people who hate people wealthier than them epitomize the definition of "greed".

[dogbyte12]

It's funny how much you trust their logic.

It's funny how much you trust the Chinese Government to use our money for peaceful purposes.

[Texas_Dawg]

And since NAFTA and GATT were signed into law, my how the economy has flourished, huh?

Are you saying it hasn't?

[A. Pole]

Meanwhile Pat Buchanan doesn't even support fighting Al Qaeda. Go figure.

You free traders just love to hide behind Al Qaeda. 9/11 came awfully handy, haven't it?

[jpl]

If what you say happens, the GOP will never figure out what caused antoher defeat. They will say that Bush ran too much as a "conservative" and did not appeal sufficiently to "moderates." The GOP then will either renominate G.W. on a "more moderate" platform for 2008 for a third run, or it will field Jeb. There will be no shortage of Bush candidacies in 2008, I would imagine.

If (God forbid) the worst happens and 1992 repeats itself in 2004, the Bush family will be finished in major national politics. I doubt that even the modern Republican party would be stupid enough to travel down the same dead-end road a third time.

[Spirited]

"If what you say happens, the GOP will never figure out what caused antoher defeat. They will say that Bush ran too much as a "conservative" and did not appeal sufficiently to "moderates." The GOP then will either renominate G.W. on a "more moderate" platform for 2008 for a third run, or it will field Jeb. There will be no shortage of Bush candidacies in 2008, I would imagine."

You don't have to imagine anything. History repeats itself. This has been the way of the Republicans for the last 40 years and it won't change because the liberals did a good job of infiltrating and carrying the whole thing left so far that in many ways John Kennedy was to the conservative side of where we are today.

[RockyMtnMan]

I'm just translating Lennin's statement for you.

I don't "hate" anyone, I go to church and believe in Jesus.

How do you know I'm not wealthy? Is it because I don't agree with your stance on trade?

[Texas_Dawg]

You free traders just love to hide behind Al Qaeda. 9/11 came awfully handy, haven't it?

Haven't it? Ummm... never mind.

Yes it did "came awfully handy". Why do you think we let it happen?

[BMiles2112]

If you lose a manufacturing job that pays $54,000 an hour, and take a $35,000 job like somebody here was suggesting....
That would be me. I don't WANT anyone in the US to lose their job, lose wages, or die in a car crash. I was proposing an alternative to losing the job altogether.

No manufacturing jobs, so the wife works, and the couple together earn what a manufacturing job would have paid and more, for one guy with the wife at home.
Who says the wife has to work? I would never propose that forcing your spouse to go to work is a good solution.

[DoughtyOne]

Pat presents a compelling case on this topic, but there has to people out there who are willing to listen and honestly consider it, before it will make sense to them.  Unfortunately there aren't many of those people around.  He is arguing the contrarian view and this immediately puts him in oppositioin to Bush and leading economists so he must be wrong.  Folks, for Christ's sake, he isn't wrong.  We have a $500 (B)illiion dollar trade deficit.  Hello!  Is this a problem or isn't it?

Someone is getting $500 billion dollars worth of economic activity, that we should be getting.  Not only that, using the multiplier effect, this $500 billion should be generating trillions of dollars worth of economic activity on our shores.  I spend $1 to buy your product.  You spent that money on payroll or supplies.  The recipient of that dollar spends it elsewhere and on down the line.  The $500 billion become $2.5 to $5.0 billion dollars of economic activity.  Well it used to.  Today it doesn't create $1 of economic activity.  Not one dime of economic activity is generated by those imports that wouldn't be realized if we created the merchandise ourselves.

In raction to this people come along and write snide comments. One says UAW.  I believe there are around 12 million non-government union jobs in this nation.  I read that some time ago, so that may be way off by now.  We employ somewhere in the neighborhood of 140-160 million americans.  Does this sound like only a UAW concern?  Does the economic activity I just addressed only concern UAW members?  Are UAW members the only people who use schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructures that the tax dollars off that much economic activity would provide?  What about paying down the national debt or paying for the war on terrorism?  Would the taxes off $3 trillion more dollars worth of economic activity help us or not?

Another person comes along and says, that deregulation and tax cuts would turn things around.  Folks, $15-$25 dollar an hour jobs will not come back when competing with $0.10 to $1.00 an hour employees.  Let's be honest here.  Workers in the United States have a standard of living to support that simply cannot be met with $0.10 to $1.00 dollar an hour wages.  Forget deregulation and tax cuts.  While it may be ture that these issues should be addressed, are we seriously going to attribute this to be the sole problem when we're talking about about wage differences in the neighborhood of 2000% or more?

The next person comes along to trash Pat on syntax.  Please folks, you may not like Pat, but on economic issues and the borders he told us exactly what we needed to hear and most people blew him off.  Even after 09/11 and $500 billion dollar trade deficits, people are still trying to belittle this man.  What's up with that?

Next someone comes along to talk about our lack of competition during the last century.  Folks, there were $0.10 an hour humans out there during the last century also.  BTW, we did not experience larger than $125 billion dollar trade deficits until after 1992.  Was our nation's economic health languishing to that point?  Today weare sponsoring four times that much economic activity taking place outside our shores.  Free Trade?  Oh my God, what will it take for people to see this for what it is, "ANYTHING BUT FREE TRADE".  This is costing us an arm and a leg.

Another person comes along to say that this whole problem would be solved if $54,000 dollar a year jobs were $35,000 dollar a year jobs.  I'm sure this will be devistating news to the person in China making anywhere from $280 to $2800 dollars a year.

Another person comes along to say that Pat has been preaching this economic song of doom and gloom for ten years, nothing has happened yet.  Folks, US jobs are being transferred overseas at a faster rate than ever before.  Manufacturing, illegal-immigrants, outsourcing, these are each methods of taking jobs of United States Citizens and giving them to foreign nationals.  I would ask you to please be honest with yourself and recognize that there is a problem here.

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but an all out WAR has been declared on the citizens of the United States who wish nothing more than to support their families with a decent job.  I have begun to hate this old story because I've seen it so many times, but here goes folks.  It applies here pefectly.  I didn't mind when they came after the X crowd because I wasn't a member.  I didn't mind when they came after the XX crowd becuase I wasn't a member.  And then when they came after me, there was no one left to save me.

Save yourselves folks.  This subject is important to you.  Quit laughing it off.