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Technology Stocks : Semi-Equips - Buy when BLOOD is running in the streets! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LLCF who wrote (2875)	10/22/1997 5:06:00 AM
From: John Cuthbertson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10921

Off topic: trade David, To tell the truth, I'm not sure what your point is. Is it that unskilled laborers in the US are harmed by free trade regardless of the industry they work in? Doubtless there's some truth to that, especially since the different steps in the process of fabricating a product (or even providing a service) can ever more easily be farmed out to different countries. Nevertheless, not all jobs in manufacturing industries are unskilled. Even blue collar jobs -- I would not call a union electrician or machinist unskilled! To say that free trade has lowered the standard of living for all workers in US manufacturing would just be wrong. In certain industries, like the ones I mentioned, it has certainly helped them. [Yes, I am aware of the labor problems at Caterpillar, but given the company's worldwide market share (the reason I used them as an example), it would be a really long stretch to blame them on free trade, at least directly. You might argue for indirect effects, such as decline in the power of unions.] As for comparative advantage being a "natural" advantage of one country over another, I'm not sure what you mean. That sounds suspect, however, since comparative advantage can certainly be created, through accumulation of capital stock, for example, or through education, as you mentioned. Free trade is good for everybody in the long run. Some people will be harmed in the short run. I think you and I agree on these two points. If there's some specific point where you think I'm wrong, please point it out. ==John