I hear a lot of opposite party bashing. Always have but with none or little explanation. Id like to debate individual issues. Can we debate trade policies?
Tariffs being all but illiminated caused this job problem. It took some time after tariffs were lowered and iliminated for greed to take over but it reared its head in the late 60's and we have the problems with jobs and taxes that we have now.
Thank you for bringing up, I appreciate it. Yes, everyone needs to talk about it, understand it, and push to correct the tremendous social and economic damage since the 50's when we started rebuilding Japan's economy.
First, and most importantly, we desperately need to re-write our unfair, unjust, and one-sided foreign trade agreements and policies, so that they become fair, equal, and balanced foreign trade agreements and policies. We're at a tremendous disadvantage in the world market place. We can NOT compete with cheap foreign labor markets. We're not allowed to work children in sweat shops 18 hours a day. Our standard of living does not allow us to work for $10.00 a day wages. We have laws and regulations governing businesses and commerce in general, that some of our trading partners do not have.
We have OSHA, EPA, USDA, FAA, FDA, and labor laws that other countries do not have. We have a tax structure that other countries do not have. In other words, it's impossible for us to compete on an uneven playing field. Remember, the term "Global Economy" basically means "equalization to the lowest level". We're seeing the truism of that equalization as we speak. We've been forced to lower our standard of living, work for less wages and benefits, and over the years, closed many of our plants and factories. Basically, we've become import dependent. America no longer produces what America uses and consumes.
The reality is, we've sacrificed our economic well-being in favor of strengthening foreign economies. We've been so busy lifting foreign economies, that we've neglected our own for many decades now. Due to unfair, unjust, and one-sided foreign trade agreements and policies, combined with the high cost of union labor, we've lost all or most of the textile, steel, electronics, toy, tool, appliance, furniture, automotive parts, housewares, and farm equipment industries to cheap foreign labor markets. And, along with those lost industries, we've lost many skills that were once handed down from generation to generation.
In order to rebuild America, and create economic growth and stability, we MUST demand fair, equal, and balanced foreign trade agreements and policies. By doing so, we'll put America back to work, producing more of what America uses and consumes. I wont bore you with the long list of social and economic benefits that would be realized by legislating and enacting fair trade, but their number is huge. But, I will give you just a few, if you don't mind.
(1) Generation of tax revenue
(2) Spendable income in the pockets of consumers
(3) Restoration of the Middle Class
(4) Greatly reduce the number of citizens receiving some form of government assistance
(5) Reduction in poverty
(6) Lower unemployment
(7) Higher wages
(8) More incentive to get higher education
(9) Close the gap between the rich and the poor
(10) Boost the retail market due to consumer spending
