Free Trade, Outsourcing, Protectionism and Reality Check

Recently on C-SPAN, there were two gentlemen debating free trade one from the CATO Institute for free trade. Yet he failed to mention the real problem, the lawyers, over regulation and government bureaucracy. They seem to be under the impression that Americans did not want to work in manufacturing jobs? What on Earth was he thinking? If the CATO Institute, a conservative free enterprise think tank, is going to go on National Television and debate free trade, surely they have more depth to understand the plight of the manufacturers in this country.

We need all kinds jobs and if we are going to import, then we need to export too. If we export we must maintain proper relations and import from those reciprocating countries. When we lower tariffs and those countries we trade with raise them, we lose. When we raise tariffs they lose. When someone loses through unbalanced trade deals or through trickery they are disrespected. Modern human psychology indicates that when people are disrespected they want revenge and that is very problematic when we are talking about whole nations or trade groups of many nations. So there could be a second reciprocal response from damaged party if they indeed have had their feathers ruffled. In trade negotiations there might be a third and a forth-reciprocal response and this is a lot like a war isn't it? Yes it is and this is why we ought to get along. Carl von Clauswitz would have been good a trade negotiation and trade war escalation.

We often cause issues that do not serve the best of mankind. For instance the fruit in Brazil grows better tastes better than the fruit in Florida. The fruit in Africa is bad so they might be happy with the fruit from Florida. If we restrict and tariff the fruit from Brazil then they are mad at us, but we say we will buy your oil? But really it is a drop in the bucket for us and they want to get a better price and can by selling to Europe instead, they also need oil for themselves and their nation. The fruit farmers in Florida have years of drought like problems and drain the Everglades, coupled with flooding Hurricanes. This causes pollution issues since the solution to pollution is dilution and less water means greater parts per million of pesticides, fertilizers, etc. Florida needs to have larger reservoirs to collect the storm season water for their populations and use desalination as they are doing now in Tampa Bay. Otherwise we ought to buy the better fruit from Brazil and maybe use the land in Florida for something else, as it appears it grows new housing and gold course quite well. Once they have the water supply grow the fruit here and let the consumer decide which fruit they like best provided that Brazil does not steal water from their natural settings either or deplete water flows to their largest cities. How about grapes, wine, strawberries in CA and Specialty berries in North Eastern UT. Might want to take this opportunity to catch up on the flow of water in the United States and the weather and rivers and agriculture.

Crops in certain areas grow really well in various regions and better than anywhere else in the World, so it makes sense to maximize efficiencies, this is a job that proper trade policy and free trade are best at. Surely we need fair trade, but we also need a reality check as to how we are hampering those efforts. On one hand we politically cater to special interest groups and create barriers, which limit competition and on the other hand we scream free trade? On one hand we over regulate our own US Based businesses and on the other hand we exhibit protectionism against our trading partners and are often hated for it, causing increased tariffs against American products. Perhaps we need a full debate on this subject and not necessarily a pragmatic approach; business by business and industry by industry. Let the free market rule and let's allow our companies at home to participate in True Free Enterprise and not some sort of prostituted version of God knows what? Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs