Free traders say: no need for protectionism. Some goods may get produced in other countries, but that will leave us with more money to spend at home.
Free traders ignore that there are no goods at home if everything is outsourced, thus massive unemployment due to this stoopid liberal policy.
Not everything is outsourced.
How would “everything” be outsourced?
Outsourcing just means that 1 country can do a task better than the other.
lol silliest thing ive heard in a while… why would people keep importing products here if we dont have the money for them?
Tell us about how everything would be outsourced.
Just look at your nearest Wal-Mart, there’s almost nothing being produced in the USA.
And as for the “workers will go to other industries”, there are only so many jobs, people aren’t going to spend all their money on burgers from McDonalds.
See above.
you are a ‘glass as half empty’ type of person arent you? i have never once in my life thought that there is ‘only so many jobs’. I take it you arent a business owner? the quantity of jobs is limited to man’s ability to think.
Even if there are absolutely no manufacturing jobs in the us we still have things like development of ideas, everything most things thats outsourced in china is produced by us companies, a huge ass services economy, etc, etc.
Depends what’s in it.
Lots of people aren’t business owners, how is it wrong? Again: if most things are outsourced, there will be less employment. It could be that this is made up for in the money people spend on things here, but you can’t prove this praxeologically, you must resort to empirical research.
For those with a high enough IQ
? US companies moving to China = not producing in the US. The services economy isn’t unlimited - most people are not going to spend as much on services as they do on manafactured crap.
How are we going to import if we have no jobs (no money)?
If we could somehow just keep benefiting from the labor of other countries, without having to work, that sounds like paradise to me.
didnt say it was wrong, just there are millions of people who dont think the way of an employee. They create/invent jobs out of thin air. So i regret any notion of there being a set number of jobs out there.
you are missing it economically. why should we produce something someone else can and will do for cheaper? if we are producing something like that then we will lose that battle. Why would you want to protect a business like that? We have to lose those jobs to clear out that industry and adjust to areas of more profitability.
where does protectionism end? anyone outside of US borders? state borders? neighbors? why does an imaginary line require protection from cheaper goods!?! You really want more expensive goods?
the macro lvl of unemployment is irrelevant in relation of protecting a single industry. Unemployment is more related to the nation’s ability to produce. If we are producing goods that only americans can afford since the rest of the world is getting it for cheaper by the ‘chinese’ then we are wasting money buying our goods than the chinese goods. There are millions of jobs waiting to be filled, but industries that are being protected against are tying of many of the potentially employed.
Let me break down your armageddon scenario:
Lets say all jobs are outsourced and America has no jobs left. How can a nation keep importing here? They cant since we no longer have anything to trade for them (money). So we begin to produce goods where we have the comparative advantage of producing.
Sorry our economy doesnt have the comparative advantage of manual labor. Sorry we moved pass that age 100 years ago.
building homes will be outsourced? how?
“US companies moving to China = not producing in the US. The services economy isn’t unlimited - most people are not going to spend as much on services as they do on manafactured crap.”
The CEO in america makes the cash and thus invests in his company more or invests in other things that the United states have comparative advantage in.
Crap made in china must be sold somewhere right? Demand here drives production in china, and goods flow from china to us.
The united states has a a great advantage in producing foods. United states major producer of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, etc, etc.
If protectionist policies are good, then why doesnt cuba have the most thriving economy, or north korea?
They are massively isolated and they barely trade with other countries at all.
By the protectionist argument, blockading the port of an enemy country should do them good instead of harm.
Oh noes the engine came along and revolutionised the world with an invention that could produce more work than a man and horse putting a lot of people out of work.
Oh noes were soon going to have artificial intelligence putting a lot of people out of work.
We had better start rounding up innovaters before none of us have jobs. . .
And while were at it, let’s bomb some yellow people because they are taking our jobs too. . .
Wow, wow, wow. I thought you were kidding initially, but you’re for real? Seriously?
@silva: Cuba is communist, North Korea is too I believe.
Having our manufacturing industry outsourced is not the same as the invention of the engine. The engine doesn’t destroy jobs because less labor where engines are means more labor where they aren’t, outsourcing most of our manufacturing on the other hand leaves no jobs. There are no jobs because it doesn’t free labor, it eradicates it. There is no other place for all that labor to go.
tell that to producers of saddle bags, reins, horseshoes, barn builders, hay growers, horse breeders, horse trainers, wagon manufactories, carriages, buggees, the horse plow producers, mule breeders, donkey breeders, im going to stop. Think about all th e jobs the horse took away from people!! THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!!!
i can write a list of thousands of jobs that were lost because of the engine.
Already dealt with that, technological improvements don’t destroy jobs because it frees labor to do other things, outsourcing destroys jobs.
@Wheylous: I’m serious, I’m reconsidering free trade.