“Ok how much does a t-shirt cost now? How much of that cost is labor? Do you work in textiles? Do you really think t-shirts made is the USA would cost $10 piece? I can get a three pack of t-shirt for 5 bucks. Do you honestly believe a 3 pack of t-shirts made in the USA would cost $30.00? Really? Why did you pick the figure $10. To make your point why not pick $50.00? Why not $100 per t-shirt? Free Republic loses credibility when economic geniuses post wild crazy stuff like you just did. Sad and stupid at the same time.”
You really should spend more time reading before posting. The $10 t shirt was a quote from user Pontiac (post #5). I was responding to his observation: “The fact that no one wants to pay an extra $10 for a tee-shirt so that someone that they have never met can afford a 70 inch TV”.
You can quibble over the actual price ($1, $5, or $10), the question remains valid: how much more would you be willing to pay for a t shirt in order for some one you’ve never met can afford a 70 inch TV?
There is a second question as well. Why is it morally correct to use the power of government to force other Americans to pay more for their goods in order for some other person to have a better life style?
Raising the minimum wage to improve some one’s life style or using tariffs to raise the wages that an industry can pay are essentially the same thing in that you are using the power of government to transfer wealth from one to the other.
There is NOTHING immoral about protectionism. Nothing. George Washington signed the Tariff Act of 1789 So was he immoral? Why should I listen to a loser who knows nothing about neither morality or history.
Why is it morally correct via trade policy to decimate entire swathes of domestic industry, impoverishing the former working class of this country, merely to enhance the profit margins of companies that close down domestic manufacturing operations? How is this an objective good for the nation? Damage to the economy and the strain on public services have been enormous, and for what? For a much smaller group of people to do a little better with their stock portfolios.