Originally posted by DanB:
I understand it (free trade system) is bad for the USA.
How else would we have a $500 billion yearly trade deficit? I ask you then, is free trade good? Do the Japanese, Europeans and others play by the same trade rules as us? NO!!!!!...
The bottom line? The playing ground is far from level for US based companies.
I agree with the statements about other countries not playing by the same rules and it isn't fair. But you have to get over this trade deficit is bad idea. It simply isn't. I wish I had to time to searc hthe internet to back it up, but you can just as easily do it.
If you are not concerned about buying domestically made made products, then most of us will be flipping hamburgers and will not even be able to afford foreign made products.
This has already been disproved. You are partially right that if we all start buying forgien products because what we currently produce costs more, then we must learn new skills. I assure you that we won't be flipping burgers as another country could do that cheaper as well. What America has proved in the past and hopfully will in the future is that its business and industry is based on innovation and is dynamic. 40 years ago, did anyone think we would all have computers to almost instantly communicate accross the world? Many US companies led the technology and made a lot of money doing it. Once other companies (read:countries) figured out ways to do things better/faster/cheaper, the original company must add value to the product in the eyes of the consumer. So, either they keep innovating or the company dies. If it dies and 10,000 people get laid off and have to find new jobs, is that bad? No, but they must learn new hopefully more valuable skills in order to raise his own standard of living.
By your reasoning, the value of the US dollar would always go down. Inflation may cause it to go down over time, but the cost of any particular good or service per dollar has not gone down. The value of the USD vs other currency has gone up over time.
I like these two quotes, BTW.
"I don't buy an American widget simply because it is an American widget, any more than I buy a foreign-made widget simply because it is a foreign-made widget."
"If an American made that product great, if someone else makes it, then I guess the American manufacturer needs to try harder next time to earn my business."
