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To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (108572)	2/20/2010 1:03:05 AM
From: Hawkmoon	2 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

I don't have any easy answers but a closed system is not the answer.. I would agree.. hence my posts regarding free AND FAIR trade.. I don't have a problem opening up our markets to foreign imports when the goods being sold are manufactured according to standards that are required by US corporations. But opening up our markets to China has not been particularly beneficial when their markets are not equally as open. I know we sell stuff to the Chinese, but I think having their currency not openly convertible and the various trade barriers to US products has provided Bejing and undue advantage. And, of course, there have been the issues with poor quality, as well as dangerous ingredients (Lead.. melamine), as well as copyright violations, which have created controversy in our trade relationship. But progress is being made. And yes.. living standards are likely to decline. But if foreigners are using child and near-slave labor, I'll be damned if I agree that our own labor force has to compete with such obviously exploitive labor practices that we supposedly outlawed long ago in our own economies. It might be more "economically efficient" to exploit cheap child and near-slave labor, but I hardly think it's in this country's interest to emulate such deplorable practices. US needs a big shakeup.. Oh.. I think we're getting it. But I think some other economies are going to get a big shakeup as well. The US may have a lot of unfunded liabilities, but I think Europe has a bigger problem. And Japan? Well.. what can we say about the demographics there? But one of the biggest shakeups we need in the US is that we have to stop permitting our R&D $$$ from being stolen, inserted in Chinese production, and then sold back to us without consequences. And we also need to start rethinking the vision of this country and stirring some genuine entrepreneurial leadership in fostering more productivity. We also need to lower taxes on corporations. But in return, we need those corporations to become better stakeholders in the community they are located. But most of all, if this administration is going to increase the public debt in order to give investors (banks) a "safe haven" to park money, then it had better damn well use that money to INVEST in productivity enhancing long-term infrastructure and hi-tech R&D projects that the private sector is too risk-adverse to attempt. Hawk