Originally Posted by
oladub
Jim, Why would this slide us into a second great depression? We are losing $50B/month, our manufacturing base, and our jobs with the trade system we have now. It doesn't matter if we have Republicans or Democrats in charge regarding trade because they both promise to straighten out the trade imbalance but it keeps getting worse. We are in fact sliding into a lower standard of living if not a second great depression despite Bush and Obama's efforts to plaster over the mess with more spending.
I remember the school text books blaming the depression on trade barriers instead of excess liquidity but in the 1920's the US was a great manufacturing country which had a positive trade balance. We have since been sold out, no longer make much of anything, and have no prospects of a recovery without more jobs.
As an alternative to an import tax and two parties which have a history of betraying US workers regarding trade, what would be your suggestion to balance trade?
Whitehouse, Marx explained that costs ultimately reflect labor. I think Republicans understand the concept. Cheaper labor is an important reason to move jobs abroad. Sony just moved it's entire US IT staff from the US to India where they won't have to pay so much to pay for workers' health care and other benefits. If their IT operation was located in California, another layer of high taxes and regulations would be eliminated by moving to India. Why would anyone in their right mind consider creating jobs here? An import tax would at least encourage anyone who wanted to sell to the US market to produce in the US market. Domestic manufacturers and their employees would both be paying lower taxes to offset higher US labor costs.