>> But then, if the interests of individual Americans is bolstered by freely traded goods (and it clearly is, if costs to individuals matter- and they do), <<
i have explained on several occasions that free trade doesn't necessarily lead to lower costs to the consumer. if you eliminate tariffs as a source of revenue to the federal government, some other source of revenue must replace it. so individuals simply pay the government income taxes instead. corporations also end up having to pay taxes to replace the revenue lost from tariffs. who do you think pays for corporate taxes??? the consumer, in the form of higher prices! it is simply passed on. the government is going to get its money from the backs of consumers one way or another, whether through tariffs on imports or through a personal and corporate income tax. to make matters worse working americans suffer lower wages from free trade, and have less money to spend on these cheap imports you find lining the shelves of wal-mart.
like i've been trying to explain to you, free trade is no free lunch.
>> You don't seem to see any possibility for a Win/Win situation, only the false notion that what one gets, is anothers loss(which is true for theft- not Free Trade). <<
you mean i'm not some naive, utopian, marxist who believes that free trade leads to peace, good-will, harmony and unity among all mankind. never has, never will.
>> Theft, mind you, resembles what happens when Government sticks its sticky fingers between trading partners, thus raising prices to American and Foreign consumers alike(not helpful to the citizens served). <<
no dummy, theft is when the government confiscates more and more money from your paycheck every week. theft is the income tax, which replaced the tariff system. the government takes far more money from individuals today under the oppressive income tax system than it ever did under the previous system of tariffs before when we had no income tax. |
