Tea Party: Throwing Free Trade Overboard?
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/op...ighthizer.html

Strangely, for a movement named after an 18th-century protest against import levies, Tea Partyers are largely skeptical about free trade’s benefits — according to a recent poll by NBC and The Wall Street Journal, 61 percent of Tea Party sympathizers believe it has hurt the United States.

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And the Republican establishment will have to deal with the fact that Tea Party heroes like Alexander Hamilton, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan had no problem restricting imports to promote our national interest. Given the Tea Party’s desire to restore America’s greatness, it will push Washington to stand up to China and re-establish American pre-eminence, even at the cost of the country’s free-trade record.

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Robert E. Lighthizer was a deputy trade representative in the Reagan administration.

I think what confuses us is that "free trade" isn't really free. Many countries subsidize their products which puts them below market value, and allows them to beat American goods in our own back yard. If they charged a price based on the actual cost to produce and ship them to us we would be much more competetive.

Yeah, and in some cases they subsidize people too.

There's huge disparities in living standards and relative costs. These make for fat margins, but they aren't going to deliver American jobs.

I am aware that's not the point of a business.. However, the domestic market doesn't belong to business. It belongs to Americans and is governed via their Representatives. (Then again, so do our borders and immigration policy, in theory) If they don't see free trade delivering on some of the promises that have been made, they're liable to support its curtailment.

Further: There's TONS we could do from the legislative and regulatory side to ease the burden on American business and make them more competitive. We refuse to contemplate any of this and expect FED policy to just drive everything like a giant gear shift.

I've worked for a state agency that regulated businesses and people. It's sickening to watch a bunch of twenty somethings get off on creating new regulation just because they can. They have no concept of the economic outfall.

Even worse, I see a trend (Mainly in the "New" "Green" *ahem* "economy") towards CREATING "demand" (And even entire products to fill it) with the stroke of a legislative pen up in DC.

There's a thought that mandates are helpful, because they drive "growth" in certain sectors.

Instead, they're a distortion and a tax.. But they are very profitable (Because you can't avoid them) so, they keep coming up.. Over and over and over..

Shit like: "Ya know, if gas were just a million, zillion dollars a gallon.. THEN we'd get REAL growth in the Green Energy sector!"

Or: "Well, if you MANDATE that so much energy has to come from "Green" sources, then THAT will create investment (Because, like all taxes.. It's backed with an iron, fucking fist.. ) which will, in turn, create jobs and incomes.. (For us to tax)

This is dangerous..

It's like Pirate Captain "Greenbeard" is running loose up there.. Trying to rob everything in sight.

Its not named after the "Boston Tea Party."

It means (T)axed (E)nough (A)lready..

Of course they care about and want free trade, however they're merely looking over all possible options..

They know what needs to be done and they know free trade isn't the problem. Union labor wages are though. It will be difficult to fix that problem though.

Scary..

It's amazing what you DON'T KNOW till you hit thirty.

And I hate to say this, because it sounds like I'm anti-education.. And I'm not.

I have a professional family tree. I know how it sounds, and I don't mean for it to.. But, it seems to me there's an inescapable conclusion about many these tards: They have NO IDEA what a real job is. They have NO IDEA what work is. They have NO IDEA how a business functions.

They're credentialed, but not educated.

In these capacities, they are working with theory and liberal leaning intuits.. and little else.

Further, they seem to have a disdain for anything resembling actual work, or the people who perform it... Even to the point of denigrating their own parents.

The very people who sent them to college in the first place.

Speaking of work, I have to go do some..

Unavoidable. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/frown.jpg

Tell me about it...

I got plenty myself, I just moved into a new house.

I'm taking today off......beer day for me http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.jpg

I'd love to.. Still might, actually. It's early yet.

I had a few beers last night but I want to get drunk today lol...

I got allot of shit to do but I'm going to use today as a "get hammered day."

Well it is the day of rest I guess..