Quote:First, let me say that the conclusion and final recommendation of the article is asinine.  "After failing to properly educate 80% of the population through the education system, we should pay for a massive centrally planned retraining program so that workers can perform new better paying jobs that will be freshly devalued based on infinite exposure to increased immigration of skilled workers through the k-1 Visa program that will drive down top level wages and the tax base that was supposedly going to pay for the massive tax and RETRAIN program to begin with."  

 

Hehe, agreed, section 5 was a bit iffy. Still, they part about foreign workers for high skilled positions is interesting to me, in the sense that in many ways our current licensing seems to be an artificial restraint that does not serve the consumer well.


 

But then it is the washington post.  What are we really supposed to accept.  

 

Truth about trade?  Its just a trump hit piece but then again its the WP.  The more I read the more it reaffirms that we need someone outside of the "Mainstream indoctrination" that goes on somewhere in the corridor around Maryland and Virginia that causes people to loose all semblances of common sense.  

 

"We don't technically have a Trade agreement with China, so Trump is talking about something that doesn't exist.   How silly is he?"  44 years of trade, millions of jobs, trillions of dollars in trade deficits that we then have to borrow back with interest that funds their national defense and we don't have a written agreement that says they won't bend us over a table?  That says a lot about the last 11 terms of the executive and a lot less about the guy who wants to stop this nonsense.  I also really appreciate how anyone interested in re balancing trade is an isolationist that will have us draw back from the global economy.  

 

I fail to see what your problem with the first part is. WTO handles issues with trade under general provisions. We don't have anything like NAFTA with China to the best of my understanding. So the author is correct. We have to use GTO standards, like in the Chinese steel dumping, to correct issues, not a different agreement.


 

For all those playing at home, there are 4 major pillars in the protectionist playbook.  

 

1.) Currency manipulation.  China has historically been one of the worst abusers the dollar is constantly adjusted based on the market.  

 

This does seem to be a problem without a current framework for solution.


 

2.) Administrative barriers.  China fights tooth and nail to keep our products out of the country, we allow them to dump their imports unfettered on our shores.  

 

Examples? I mean other than the steel one I gave above.


 

3.) Tariffs.  China HAS a Tariff wall with our country designed to shield its domestic producers from real external competition, we don't.  

 

I hear this, but really haven't seen the evidence, so some links would be appreciated. From what I have understood, general tariffs would violate WTO guidelines, as Trump's 45% thing would. I imagine that would be addressed in WTO.


 

4.) Subsidies.  In China, most base line overhead for exporters is covered by the state including the cost of facilities, the power to run them etc.  This makes it functionally impossible for American exporters to compete.  

 

Just out of curiosity, where do we draw the line? If the US gives subsidies for domestic development of green technology is that taboo? What about our tax breaks for relocating businesses? I mean, I am curious how you would suggest we ever be able to deal with this.


 

And those are just the economic strategies.  Never-mind the fact that when you do get over the four policy hurdles to get into the country with your product that they just steel the intellectual property that cost you your life savings in R&D, slap a new label on it and flood the American market with it.  

 

Call it a new bilateral trade agreement, call it executive pressure on an economy that is in the middle of recession (china's) call it winning a trade war i don't care, they are literally intentionally and blatantly ripping us off making it impossible for our companies to compete and we have to stop this cyle of loose and borrow.  

 

The devil is in the details. I would love to see what Trump (or Bernie, or any of them) really have out there as far as the details.


 

Last but not least, They falsely characterized Trump's ideas as just a Tariff Buffet.  He has also talked about the vast reduction in the tax on repatriating capital (We currently tax AMERICAN COMPANIES that bring money back to the US to invest at a rate of 38.8%).  He's talked about lowering the regulatory burden that drives companies out of the country.  He's talked about lowering the tax burden that drives companies out of the country.  It's not just enough to tax imports.  America has the most productive workforce in the world.  We also have the most expansive consumer market in the world.  Those are two gold gems for foreign investors that our BETTERS in the government hold hostage with taxes and regulation on anyone dumb enough to make things here.  Right to work, lower taxes, lower regulation, repatriation of funds and you make America a desired market to make things instead of a skunk on the international manufacturing stage! 

 

When someone can set up a factory producing T-Shirts for 5% of the cost in Malaysia, why would they choose to come here? Seriously, I am not sure I get where you think the manufacturing base makes economic sense to relocate to the U.S..


 

Not trying to be strident, I just am not sure of where the economic sense comes from in many of the discussions on trade and jobs. I am in many ways pretty simple when it comes to a lot of that stuff. If the numbers don't add up, the jobs won't come back. And if we do have some sort of half-[BLEEP] system in place for restraint of trade, I am not sure that it benefits us either.