i don't want to get political here, because i know the mods discourage that, and i respect that....but please people....take some time and read what you're paying for,
That's right. So, when I'm done posting this, I'm going to have to edit it out and give myself a stern warning . :nono (Well, not really, because I think I can say what I'm thinking while speaking in generalities.)
We're all familiar with the news coverage every year, about how important the upcoming Christmas shopping season is going to be for the economy. People buy lots of stuff--good. People avoid buying lots of stuff--bad.
That's because when people spend that money, it spreads around. A little for the store clerk, and the stock people. A little for the trucker that hauled the stuff to the store. A little for the people at the warehouse, some for the people at the electric company for keeping the lights lit at both places. Some for the people that actually manufactured the goods, and some more for the people that mined or grew the raw materials that went into that manufacture.
That stimulates the economy. It supposed to be good for everybody. I can't disagree with that.
My problem with all that is this--a lot of what people buy, to gift you with, is stuff you'd never buy for yourself, because you really have no use for it--a music CD by an artist you don't like, or a really ugly sweater. The mony spent stimulates the economy, but really, it's wasted, because the CD ends up gathering dust, and the sweater ends up as a shop rag. (After you've worn it once, just to be polite.) That money would be just as much of a stimulus if it had been spent on a few pairs of nice, heavy, wool socks, and it wouldn't be wasted.
I see the stimulus bill in the same way. Getting the money into circulation is good. Keeping those people employed, and taking home paychecks is good. But if we're going to do that with billions of taxpayer dollars, let's buy wool socks with it, instead of ugly sweaters.
Bottom line, you cant ship your scrap metal to China, have it returned as a product, and expect the nation you live in to prosper. Its time we return to building it here, and buying it only if it has :usa on the side.
On to my next (hopefully) profound thought....
By providing a cleaner environment, better working conditions, a higher standard of safety, etc, we've put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage with much of the world, and the resulting price difference between domestic goods and foreign goods is difficult to overcome.
What we need to do, is pass a law that says anything sold in this country
must be produced in accordance with the same laws that would apply if it were produced here, on our own shores. And that means the entire supply chain, from the farm or mine, through shipping the raw materials, the manufacturing process, shipping the finished product, and the energy that goes into all of that.
Is the farm or mine of the country of origin OSHA/MSHA compliant? NO? Sorry, you can't sell that product here. Would the trucks hauling the stuff pass an inspection by our own loved and respected DOT cops? NO? Sorry, you can't sell that stuff here. Was it manufactured in some sweatshop by 12 year olds working 16 hour days? Was that shop clean and safe, in compliance with our standards? Was the smoke coming from the smokestack in compliance with what makes our EPA happy? NO? Sorry, you can't sell that here.
If our environmental laws, our labor laws, our safety laws, are good enough for us, they should be good enough for everybody. They're put in place to protect people from unscrupulous businesses that would pollute, take advantage of people, and imperil their health and safety, right? Why should we be hypocritical and allow people from other countries to live under risks that we need protections from? They're just as human as us, so they should get the same protections we provide for ourselves.
Of course, all that would really do, is level the playing field for the businesses that are located here. They should like that. The side effect would be that, to the extent that we've put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage by setting higher standards for what we will and will not allow, it would once again make "building it here" competitive with building it somewhere else. And if our own workforce still can't compete and be as productive as any workforce in the world, then we
deserve to go down the tubes...
