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To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (38064)	10/10/2000 3:56:07 PM
From: willcousa	Respond to of 70976

OT - whole major industries - autos and steel for two, have been restructured as a result of foreign competition. The country is stronger as a result and consumers are better off. This country can handle all the globalization the world can dish out. Other countries, especially europe and japan, have much more to fear than we do.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (38064)	10/10/2000 3:57:42 PM
From: Lone Star	Respond to of 70976

Cary,please start a new thread, " Semi Equip Investing, or, OT Communistic Claptrap, You're Choice!", and take you're tired socialist ideas there.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (38064)	10/10/2000 3:58:38 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Cary, Free trade and free markets benefit the society of the whole world, but they tend to bring American wage rates down to world levels or they export jobs entirely to to low wage rate areas You might be surprised to hear how much of the world is doing, under the capitalist free market system. 1.3 Billion people currently live on less than one dollar a day and 3.1 Billion people live on less than two dollars a day. I am currently reading an excellent book which provides case studies in numerous countries, including our own, that get's one thinking how free are the free markets really? amazon.com The money for this must come from the businesses and individuals that are profiting from the free trade and markets and the opportunity to exploit lower cost labor overseas. I agree that there should be some type of cost of doing business where there are no safety or environmental guidelines, because Transnational companies are getting away with murder, quite literally, in many countries at the expense of those who can least afford it. FWIW, George Soros came out several years ago and said something to the effect that we had crossed the line- from Capitalism to a form of Ultracapitalism, where everything is subjugated to the almighty dollar. Unless this trend is stopped, or at the very least slowed, living conditions for the majority of people on the planet will be miserable in the 21st Century. Don't get me wrong, I am an optimist, but I also see what happens when families "need" 2 SUV's, or a larger home, or thenumerous othernecessities that are really luxuries. Americans are unhappy largely because we spend so much of our time working for things that we feel we need, which cuts down on the time we spend developing meaningful relationships. We may make more money than any other country, but we also feel we need LOTS more to achieve happiness. Maybe it's the media that portrays images of young adults living implausibly affluent lifestyles, or advertisers relentlessly flaunting their products to us 24/7, but this society is rapidly turning into a generation of materialistic, out-of-shape & self-absorbed debtors. OK, I'm getting off the soapbox:-) Regards, Brian.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (38064)	10/10/2000 4:48:20 PM
From: Liatris Spicata	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Cary- OT- I wonder what you have learned from the fact that to the extent societies have embraced free minds and free markets, they have prospered. Widely differing societies, I might add. Conversely, to the extent societies have granted the government the role of creator or redistributor of wealth, they have curtailed their economic and moral stature. Under what moral authority a business (or individual) must be obliged at gun-point (which is what our tax system amounts to) to provide "cash stipends, medical care, and financial aid for housing ... and aged relative's care" is a matter you carefully seem to avoid addressing. I might add that the republic survived quite well for over 150 years when the government did none of these things. I would suggest to you that your existence does not impose any moral imperative on me to act on your behalf. Your existence only obliges me to refrain from acting in a manner that intrudes on your rights (eg. I may not move my fist where your nose begins). Our obligations are, or course, reciprocal. Only when these norms are observed can we rightfully call ourselves a free people. Larry P.S. Spare me from a government that assumes "social engineering" as its responsibility. Those that have gone that route have shown a distinct propensity for becoming veritable hellholes.