Replies

For the first 200 years America had various forms of protectionist policies. During that time we became the strongest nation on earth, with a middle-class the envy of the world. BTW, the Republican Party platforms included tariffs for a century.

Of course protectionism can be misapplied, but when applied correctly, it saves entire American industries.

Right now, from Wrigley gum to Cisco routers, American patents and copyrights are being stolen to the tune of $20 billion (according to the companies) in China alone.

And, we have not even begun to discuss national security; nor, the amount of taxpayer money going to subsidize corporate offshoring.

Not everyone would agree with your assessment. The US didn't become an economic superpower by shunning protectionism, but neither did it do so by embracing it. Maybe it's news to you that until 9/11, we were by far the largest recipient of foreign investment in the world - what China, Europe and Japan got was literally peanuts compared to us. In sheer dollars our government and economy are easily the most foreign-owned in the world. This is hardly without precedent in our history. It was largely foreign capital that put us on the map as an economic power in the first place, in the mid-to-late 1800s.

For the first 200 years America had various forms of protectionist policies. During that time we became the strongest nation on earth, with a middle-class the envy of the world. BTW, the Republican Party platforms included tariffs for a century.

The implicit conclusion that protectionist policies were the sole reason for us becoming the strongest nation on earth is incorrect, wrong, false etc. One CANNOT forget the other factors viz. we had a huge immigrant boom, we expanded to the West, we quadrupled in size, we stuck out of silly European wars, WWI and II happened during which we did not interfere until crucial turning points and our war economy boomed, we stayed capitalistic when the countries we now compete with flirted with socialism.

Why do I bring this up? Because I don't think the reason why we're in this state is so simplistic, nor is the solution so simplistic as to involve purely protectionism. Don't forget that China and India and Russia were fiercely protectionist until the 80s and 90s but when they opened up, they've boomed. And they have opened up now. Whatever tariffs etc. they have NOW is nothing compared to what they had earlier. We can beat this downturn and we WILL beat it, but to give a simplistic solution to a complex problem is not the way.