I'm 100% for it. Regardless we have to continue exports to maintain our status as world power, otherwise we'd give that status to China. If countries were to become isolated, then yes, no country would complete with the USA, we'd be set.
I think we should also end foreigners owning U.S. real estate. That said millennial's already screwed the pooch on that one. Many figured they were above property ownership. They didn't take into account they'll be paying the Chinese rent in the form of 5Kish by their 60th B-days.
Isolated countries fail economically.
Oh, but we won't be isolated, once the manufacturing jobs are forced back on-shore...
We'll be exporting manufactured goods to others, again.
Sigh....
Do you not see the problem with your own logic? Do you think that any person, elsewhere in the world, is not thinking the exact same thing?
If you intend to use the power of government to impose protectionism to force manufacturing back into the US..... What do you think other countries will do?
They are going to put in place those exact same protectionist barriers against the US.
Again, just look at the Smoot-Hawley tariff in the 1930s.
Why didn't US exports go up? Why did US exports drop? Because all the countries that had tariffs levied against them, turned around and levied tariffs against the US.
The perfect example of this was the iron and steel tariffs.
So the US put in place tariffs on Iron ore. Canada put in place tariffs on steel. So the pittsburgh steel found itself paying massively high prices for iron ore because import tariffs on ore from Canada, and then found the price of steel crashed because one of the biggest demands for steel was exports that now had tariffs on steel from the US.
17 Months after the Smoot-Hawley protectionist tariffs were put in place, 11 different banks operating in Pittsburgh crashed and went insolvent.
Again, if you think we are going to have protectionism, and force companies to locate in the US, and all the other countries are going to be perfectly happy buying US exports... that is not a logical position to have. Other countries are going to do the same. And instead, you are going to destroy $2.4 Trillion in exports we make yearly. And not having imports is also going to destroy jobs.
They are already doing it to US. They have been for decades. We have been their ***** while they profit from ******* US.
The US is the third largest exporter in the world today. We are only the 3rd largest, if you include the European Union as one country. Otherwise, we're the 2nd largest.
Further, China is our forth largest buyer. But even that is misleading, because the 2nd and 3rd largest is Mexico and Canada, which is primarily defined by oil imports and exports to refineries.
If you exclude oil flowing in an out across the boarders with Mexico and Canada, That would leave the top 2 buyers of US exports as China and the EU. Which again requires you take the entire European Union, as one giant country. If you look at the EU as separate countries.....
The the number one, largest buyer of US produced goods is China.
The US is a huge exporter, and China is a huge buyer of US exports.
You claim that China has been doing this for decades? Then they really suck at doing it.
Very nice spin. I sure that there are many Free Trade Ideologues and people who make money off the status quo who will be happy to accept that perception of reality and pretend that everything is fine.
Meanwhile, our society is so fucked that our life spans are actually DROPPING.
Life span and economics are not directly connected.
That's a strange argument to make.
Why are you trying to tie societal break down, to economics?
That's a strange position to take. That somehow, if we eliminated international trade, that magically people would no longer die in auto accidents? Or cancer and heart disease?
Those are the top 3 causes of death in the US. Which of those, would magically be reduced by protectionism?
Even suicide and self harm, heroin and such... which of those would magically be reduced by protectionism?
How would being charged a higher price for all goods, make any of those causes of death reduced?
Or murder even. Murder and homocides drastically reduce life expectancy. How does protectionism reduce that?
Correct. Life span and economics are not directly connected.
The export of manufacturing jobs, combined with the flooding of our labor market has created long term wage stagnation for large portions of our working poor and middle class. This has led to economic pain, real economic pain that INDIRECTLY leads to, for example,
1. Lower income, which leads to higher rates of cancer and hearth disease.
2. Lower income, which leads to higher rates of risky behavior leading to drug abuse and alcoholism and various life shortening issues that come with those.
3. Broken families, which lead to suicide and drug abuse, both in the parents and in the children.
4. Lower incomes, which lead to lower rates of marriage, which leads to higher rates of risky behaviors.
There is zero evidence that the middle class has long term wage stagnation.
Moreover, if you are not happy with your wages, it is up to you the individual to do something of higher value.
If you as an individual refuse to do higher value work, then no amount of controls on labor or export of manufacturing jobs, is going to help that.
Moreover, manufacturing jobs are declining, with or without exporting of jobs.
As automation continues, the number of jobs in manufacturing will continue to decrease. This will happen, with or without, manufacturing outside the US.
1. Lower income, which leads to higher rates of cancer and hearth disease.
False. Cancer and heart disease is not caused by low wages.
2. Lower income, which leads to higher rates of risky behavior leading to drug abuse and alcoholism and various life shortening issues that come with those.
False. Risky behavior and drug abuse is not caused by low wages. In fact, the very opposite is true. Risk behavior and drug abuse, results in low wages, because people on drugs are lousy employees, and often can only get the lowest wage jobs, because they suck. As someone who has hired and fired people, and guarantee you I promoted people to higher wage positions because they were quality employees, and I can't count the number of people I fired because they were on drugs, and crap employees.
3. Broken families, which lead to suicide and drug abuse, both in the parents and in the children.
False. Suicide are more often of affluent people. Poor people are less likely to commit suicide.
False. Broken families are not caused by low wages. In fact the very reverse is often the case. As someone whose father does marriage counseling, it is more often that people in marriages with good jobs, often after divorce end up losing their jobs, specifically because the destruction of their home life, ends up damaging their performance at work.
1. Middle class wage stagnation is a given. Lower class wage stagnation is a given. YOur denial is silly.
2. Discussing policies to encourage wage growth is completely legitimate. YOur denial of this is not reasonable.
3. YOur pretense of not understanding that I was talking of indirect connections, is dismissed.
4. The connection between the decline in life spans and long term economic pain, has been discussed by medical authorities. Taking this into account, when making policy, is reasonable.
No, the fact.... FACT.... that wages are not static, is a proven by the evidence, which I already linked to.
It's not debatable.... it's an empirical fact that wages are not stagnate.
If you want me to look up the article and repost it, I'll be happy to do so.
Further, discussion the policies to encourage wage growth is ridiculous. A: they don't work. B: we have the highest standard of living in the world. Stop being a spoiled brat.
Moreover, for someone as ignorant as you, I don't really care what you claim to "dismiss" or not.
No, there is no connection between declining life span, and the economics of the united states. None. It's ridiculous to even attempt to make that connection, given the fact.... FACT.... that our standard of living is higher than anywhere else in the world.
1. YOur desire to move the goals posts from lower class and middle class wages to the average wages, which hides the breakdown, is noted and denied.
2. It is not ridiculous to discuss policy to encourage wage growth.
3. The hollowing out of the Manufacturing sector, the stagnation of wages, the loss of hope for a better life, these contribute to risky behaviors, which lead to early death. Your denial of this well known fact does not reflect well on you.
You never said anything about ignoring all wages, except the ones that for whatever reason, matter to you.
I don't care what you note, or don't note. If I indicated to you, that your ignorant based opinion of me or anything else, mattered to me, I do apologize.
2. It is not ridiculous to discuss policy to encourage wage growth.
Well given how many lies, denials, and arrogant pronouncements you have made... it is ridiculous to discuss this with you.
I posted clear evidence of my position. You have ignored it twice now. Equally you have not made an evidence backed claim yet.
To throw it back in your face.... "YOur desire to ignore evidence and provide none yourself, is noted and denied". Don't throw stones, and you won't get one back in your face.
3. The hollowing out of the Manufacturing sector
Hollowing out? Bull crap. No evidence of that whatsoever.
View attachment 316424
2019 was a record year in manufacturing. We produced more value for goods in 2019, than at any time in US history.
Further....
View attachment 316426
Manufacturing as a percentage share of real GDP, has been holding steady since the 1940s, at right around 12% on average.
There zero evidence that manufacturing in the US is being..... "hollowed out".
To throw it back in your face.... "YOur desire to ignore evidence and provide none yourself, is noted and denied". Don't throw stones, and you won't get one back in your face.
The manufacturing sector’s share of U.S. jobs has fallen over time, but its output has kept pace with the U.S. economy in real terms.
www.stlouisfed.org
The only thing you can say, is that the percentage of employment in manufacturing has declined. Well that's going to happen anyway. That has nothing to do with trade.
That has to do with the cost of labor, being more expensive than the cost of automation.
Do you really think that if GoodYear brings their tire factory back, that they are going to build all their tires with hundreds of $50/hour laborers?
No, they are not. They are going to have a fully automated factory, employing at best, a dozen people, to hit the green start button, and then make sure nothing breaks.
If Apple Computer brings iPhones manufacturing back to the US, they are not going to employ dozens of guys, carefully putting the glass on the display.
They will have it fully automated with one guy, hitting a button.
So again... none of your protectionism, will bring any significant jobs to the low-skilled workers. In fact, I'd even say zero.
Zero jobs for the low-skill class. They are going to hire highly skilled maintenance workers, robotic engineers, assembly line engineers, and managers. They are not hiring Bob the line tech, who doesn't have a degree or any certifications, or anything.
So even the few jobs that would be brought back to the US, still wouldn't help any of the people you claim it would.