bendog
Diamond Member
- Mar 4, 2013
- 46,292
- 9,699
I apologize for length.
that is. Trump is selling the snake oil of protectionism. But instead of showing why Trump’s message is false, and con job, she doubles down on trying to be a happy protectionist herself.
Assuming Trump could actually get his policies enacted into law (which won’t happen btw because of the chamber of commerce, apple, ge, boeing, GM, ford, chrysler and wal-mart to name a few) his policies would actually depress wages further.
Assume, for example, we forced all cellphone and computer mfters to not use Chinese labor, but mfter here, with higher wages. So might fewer cellphones and computers be purchased? Perhaps, but what if the workers making the cellphones and computers bought some to make up the difference in sales, and maybe even provide an uptick.
But might not China stop buying our soybeans and petrochemicals and instead look to other markets, and perhaps even create their own supplies with land the chinese own in places like Africa, where labor must be cheap. Not to mention Iran. Those US farmers and chemical workers wouldn’t have the money to buy cell phones and computers then.
In short, a pencil will cost more.
https://youtu.be/67tHtpac5ws
Trump is selling what everyone should know is impossible: The US as an enclosed and self-sufficient market. The only way for Trump to make that sale is for voters to convince themselves it’s possible. And the fact is, at it’s most basic, we can’t eat all the food we produce or buy enough tickets for the entertainment we create - there just aren’t enough man hours to consume it.
But Hillary is equally bad in her own way. The equalizer in trade is not tariffs or closed markets. As Friedman taught us .... it’s in exchange rates.
https://youtu.be/gR_D3Q8To-s
Ah, but one might ask, isn’t Trump right that the Chinese don’t allow a free rate of exchange? And he is right, and Hillary’s an abject coward in not addressing it. Trump, ever the bully, says he’ll shut down Chinese trade. Well, beyond the fact that the EU is actually a larger market than the US, not to mention the rest of the world, the Chinese can call in our debt, which would force us to default .. which without wasting more of your time, would cause prices to go up as the dollar crashed.
Sooooo, are we powerless. Must we choose between the snake oil of a con man, whose platitudes a college freshman should laugh at, or do nothing as Hillary has put forth, at least thus far?
Are you or I making more because of not so free trade? NOOOO. Who is .... ummm the Waltons, shareholders of Apple and GE, etc. Not that they're evil; they're simply legally doing what they can do in their own interests.
Bernie is actually right about who derives the benefit of the global economy. But like any good socialist, he has to consider everyone deserves an equal share no matter how hard or long they work. And, as Friedman might say, it's not about the job you have or the fairness of the universe, it's about a society where we work so out kids can have better.
Here’s to hoping Warren shows Hillary a spine.
that is. Trump is selling the snake oil of protectionism. But instead of showing why Trump’s message is false, and con job, she doubles down on trying to be a happy protectionist herself.
Assuming Trump could actually get his policies enacted into law (which won’t happen btw because of the chamber of commerce, apple, ge, boeing, GM, ford, chrysler and wal-mart to name a few) his policies would actually depress wages further.
Assume, for example, we forced all cellphone and computer mfters to not use Chinese labor, but mfter here, with higher wages. So might fewer cellphones and computers be purchased? Perhaps, but what if the workers making the cellphones and computers bought some to make up the difference in sales, and maybe even provide an uptick.
But might not China stop buying our soybeans and petrochemicals and instead look to other markets, and perhaps even create their own supplies with land the chinese own in places like Africa, where labor must be cheap. Not to mention Iran. Those US farmers and chemical workers wouldn’t have the money to buy cell phones and computers then.
In short, a pencil will cost more.
https://youtu.be/67tHtpac5ws
Trump is selling what everyone should know is impossible: The US as an enclosed and self-sufficient market. The only way for Trump to make that sale is for voters to convince themselves it’s possible. And the fact is, at it’s most basic, we can’t eat all the food we produce or buy enough tickets for the entertainment we create - there just aren’t enough man hours to consume it.
But Hillary is equally bad in her own way. The equalizer in trade is not tariffs or closed markets. As Friedman taught us .... it’s in exchange rates.
https://youtu.be/gR_D3Q8To-s
Ah, but one might ask, isn’t Trump right that the Chinese don’t allow a free rate of exchange? And he is right, and Hillary’s an abject coward in not addressing it. Trump, ever the bully, says he’ll shut down Chinese trade. Well, beyond the fact that the EU is actually a larger market than the US, not to mention the rest of the world, the Chinese can call in our debt, which would force us to default .. which without wasting more of your time, would cause prices to go up as the dollar crashed.
Sooooo, are we powerless. Must we choose between the snake oil of a con man, whose platitudes a college freshman should laugh at, or do nothing as Hillary has put forth, at least thus far?
Are you or I making more because of not so free trade? NOOOO. Who is .... ummm the Waltons, shareholders of Apple and GE, etc. Not that they're evil; they're simply legally doing what they can do in their own interests.
Bernie is actually right about who derives the benefit of the global economy. But like any good socialist, he has to consider everyone deserves an equal share no matter how hard or long they work. And, as Friedman might say, it's not about the job you have or the fairness of the universe, it's about a society where we work so out kids can have better.
Here’s to hoping Warren shows Hillary a spine.
