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

To: John Cuthbertson who wrote (2929)	10/22/1997 6:33:00 PM
From: LLCF	Respond to of 10921

<Is it that unskilled laborers in the US are harmed by free trade regardless of the industry they work in? > Yes because the US has no competitive advantage in unskilled labor... self evident. I'm not saying its wrong....thats life! Its great for unskilled labor in the rest of the world...and its great for us further up on the "food chain"...why should we pay all that money to those people when we can get it cheaper in Mexico??? I don't give a shit they only live 10 minutes away on the other side of the rail road tracks.....I got my tennis court put in with the money I made on my stocks going up cause they moved to Mexico! < To say that free trade has lowered the standard of living for all workers in US manufacturing would just be wrong> I thought I made it clear that I was talking low on the skill level, certainly there are SOME manufacturing jobs that havent been hurt...on the other hand "on average" I'm sure even the above is true...is there ANY blue collar manufacturing job that you know of that pays what Steel and Auto got paid 20 years ago???? No. <As for comparative advantage being a "natural" advantage of one country over another, I'm not sure what you mean> All I'm saying is your description (in your post) of "comparative advantage" (ie by industry) is wrong IMO...its the "input" (ie. certain labor levels, natural resources, capital stock, etc) where the comparative advantage lies...which can then translate into advantages to certain industries. Like our competitive advantage in education...hence high tech....for those with the advantage (highly educated)...but not the line workers (making less than US Steel workers made 20 years ago). <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.> Cant agree more....and more than that I believe its the natural order of things....I would state as I did before however that the "short run" can be a generation or two! Thats where I think Ross Perot was helpful....he wasnt afraid to point out that people will be hurt...to say that this is all short and sweet is silly IMO. DAK