Another spin on it -
Our citizens are afforded the "luxury" of being stupid because the country is a superpower. We don't need to be competent, because we live in a safe environment and have a high standard of living.
The average American doesn't need to know how to sew our own clothing, grow our own food, or defend our houses against rebel militants... so we don't. We sit on our asses watching TV, wondering why the rest of the world wants to live here so badly.
Our citizens are afforded the "luxury" of being stupid because the country is a superpower. We don't need to be competent, because we live in a safe environment and have a high standard of living.
The average American doesn't need to know how to sew our own clothing, grow our own food, or defend our houses against rebel militants... so we don't. We sit on our asses watching TV, wondering why the rest of the world wants to live here so badly.
America will always remain a large and powerful nation it's just that we're no longer number one - china took that from us.
In other words, an introduction is in order.
charrison, meet the concept of exploitave trade, where one nation uses its ability to coerce - usually military power driving political power - to extort goods and services more cheaply than they otherwise would be available. This is a *very* polite way of saying the same basic thing as the mob showing up to your business, and offering you 'protection' for a fee so reasonable, you can't afford not to buy it, or when the well-armed robber offers you your health for the low price of your wallet.
Concept of exploitive trade, where one nation uses its ability to coerce - usually military power driving political power - meet charrison.
Now, charrison, note that Exploitative Trade isn't the same as Trade, which is what you address. There's a whole debate along the lines you mention available on that topic.
No, what we're talking about here might be when the term 'gunboat diplomacy' was coined, when the US sent Apmiral Perry into Tokyo Harbor to tell them they'd be ending their centuries-old preference to cut off the outside world, or they'd be adding a lot of lead to their diet; it might be when a big foreign corporation pays off the 'leadership' of a nation to make deals with it - selling public assets under market value, for example - that are not 'fair' to someone, especially if a military threat has helped pave the way for the coercion.
We're not talking here about just saying 'hey, China has a lot of poor people, and we can have mutually beneficial trade, even if we might be harming our own industries'.
You two kids have a lot to talk about so I'll let you get to it.
The repubs may need a little more time to do it, but the 2 democrats you have to choose from will do it over night.
senseamp
Lifer
- Feb 5, 2006
- 35,787
- 6,195
- 126
We are a super power because other countries chose us to be a super power. The only thing keeping us from collapsing is that other countries chose to support our currency and loan us money in dollars and accept the worthless dollars we keep printing as repayment.
They chose to work for us at a sharp discount to build up their export economies. That is until they build those economies up enough that their own people decide that they want the nice life for themselves instead of exporting it to us, which they are rapidly doing. Now we have to compete with their domestic markets for natural resources and goods, and they don't really need to keep subsidizing our consumption so much. You can see it happening already, China is revaluing the yuan up because they are no longer willing to accept domestic inflation they get by tying their currency to the dollar. Which means they are now more interested in keeping things affordable for their own populations than subsidizing exporters with currency to keep things cheap for us. And if they are no longer subsidizing our imports, we are going to have to eat the inflation, big time, so get ready for a reduction of our standards of living to correspond to what we actually create. The lazy and uneducated workers in this country will have to get used to standards of living appropriate for lazy and uneducated workers, no longer subsidized by hard working cheap labor from overseas.
They chose to work for us at a sharp discount to build up their export economies. That is until they build those economies up enough that their own people decide that they want the nice life for themselves instead of exporting it to us, which they are rapidly doing. Now we have to compete with their domestic markets for natural resources and goods, and they don't really need to keep subsidizing our consumption so much. You can see it happening already, China is revaluing the yuan up because they are no longer willing to accept domestic inflation they get by tying their currency to the dollar. Which means they are now more interested in keeping things affordable for their own populations than subsidizing exporters with currency to keep things cheap for us. And if they are no longer subsidizing our imports, we are going to have to eat the inflation, big time, so get ready for a reduction of our standards of living to correspond to what we actually create. The lazy and uneducated workers in this country will have to get used to standards of living appropriate for lazy and uneducated workers, no longer subsidized by hard working cheap labor from overseas.
blackangst1
Lifer
- Feb 23, 2005
- 22,914
- 2,359
- 126
blackangst1
Lifer
- Feb 23, 2005
- 22,914
- 2,359
- 126
youre usually very good at presenting your side. But on this-you suck. Only because you are very naive. When we talk about sending labor overseas, it isnt as many say. Sure, its cheap and OMG for ~us~ but for them its usually a pretty good wage.
As Ive said in many other threads, Ive traveled alll over the planet. Let me give you one example. Levi's are made in Manila. The average worker making them makes about $200/mo, or $1.20 or so per hour. MY GOD! you say. SLAVE LABOR! your naivity shows big time by saying this. $200/mo, or 8500 pesos, for someone who lives with family is a good wage. Not rich, but its pretty good.
Get it? It's not exploitive at all. We give people a fair wage for a days work. Are there abuses? Sure. But its the exception, not the rule. I could give you two dozen examples, including breaking down pay vs the economy in any particular country. youre just plain dead wrong.
He would also know that these type of things actually drive wages up in these countries. It has happened in India, China, mexico and just about any other place that has been accused of having cheap labor. As these counties build skills, their labor becomes more valuable and demands higher wages. There is no race to the bottom because of trade.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 9K
-
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 7K
-
Facebook
Twitter