Mum’s the Word on “Free Trade”: Money Controls
OPS_admin | Dec 11, 2009 | Comments 0
Sen. Ernest F. “Fritz” Hollings, with video by Craig Harrington -
The President has the country headed in the wrong direction by continuing to get rid of our economy with “free trade.”
“Free trade” means different things to different people. To economists in the United States, “free trade” means an open market where goods are unfettered or unprotected by tariffs, quotas or subsidies. To one of John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, Henry Clay, “free trade” was pure fantasy. Clay thought “free trade” was an oxymoron. In 1832, he cried: “Free trade, free trade … It never existed … It never will.” Teddy Roosevelt thought “free trade” was dumb economics. He exclaimed in a letter: “Thank God I’m not a free trader.”
After World War II, Japan took our Marshall Plan money and started globalization or a trade war for market share by closing its domestic market, subsidizing its manufacturing, selling its exports at near cost, and making up the profit in its closed market. It took over market share in textiles and then globalized by seeking a country cheaper to produce, moving its textile manufacturing to Malaysia and changing its trade war from textiles to watches, to cameras, to electronics, to radios, to TVs, to computers, to communications, to automobiles.
Full Story Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.
Filed Under: Economy - Labor
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If we don't change our ways soon...
A new report by the Royal Society, chaired by Nobel prize-winning biologist Sir John Sulston warns that world population must be stabilized and consumption in wealthy nations must be reduced or the entire planet is in big trouble. As the report reads: "The number of people living on the planet has never been higher, their levels of consumption are unprecedented and vast changes are taking place in the environment. We can choose to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption... or we can choose to do nothing and to drift into a downward spiral of economic and environmental ills leading to a more unequal and inhospitable future."This is the same warning that President Jimmy Carter gave Americans back in the 1970's - but it was ignored when Ronald Reagan came to power with a "more positive" message basically telling Americans we can do whatever we want. And then after 9/11 - Bush told us all we should go shopping and consume ever more.And now with corporations calling the shots in Washington - long-term sustainability of the planet takes a back seat to short-term profits. If we don't change our ways soon - and embrace clean, alternative energy and educate women around the plant - then we all could be headed for a rough century.-Thom(Is there any chance we will learn in time? Tell us here.) -
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