Straight Talk on Protectionism

[mannecyberguy]

Please tell me how protectionism is supposed to be good; especially in this era of American corporations outsourcing so many American jobs abroad in order to exploit cheap labour, and increase short-term profits.

[AroundSun]

Let me get this straight. The government charges its citizens higher taxes in order to buy American goods. They then buy American goods increasing Jobs in the United States. Sounds like a broken window falacy to me. I could go around breaking windows in the stores in town, and that would create jobs. But that is lost capital to the businesses I vandalized. You need to get it through your head America that the government doesn't have any money of its own, it only has what it takes from us

[eparkbuckeye]

Protectionism was the policy that built our industrial economy; a simple glance through history will prove this. Through the tariff system, our industry became the largest and most efficient in the world, with the highest paid labor. Every industrialized nation came about through tariffs (Georgian England, Bismarck's Germany, the US, post war Japan, and modern China.)

[AroundSun]

@eparkbuckeye There were many more factors. It is naive to believe that these tariffs overall helped the American consumers and workers. We do not have free trade right now. For the 5 million jobs we lost to NAFTA, we gained 19 million new ones. That is only with manipulated regulated trade. Imagine if we had real free trade?

[wvaccountant]

I will agree with you, however, that if we want to stimulate the economy, purchasing foreign goods likely has less of an effect than purchasing domestic ones.

[wvaccountant]

"There is absolutely no reason that any government should ever buy anything that's foreign made if that thing could be made domestically."

Evidently, you've never heard of comparative or absolute advantage. Why not take an economics class before posting? It doesn't make sense for the government to spend more on an American product when it can purchase a foreign product for less. We aren't efficient at making everything; we need to focus on what we're good at and import the rest.

[mnasby]

Protectionism is bad because it protects inefficient businesses that can't compete in the world market.

Read "The Choice" by Russell Roberts it explains that even though some jobs are lost, the country as a whole benefits.

[istraight1]

@mnasby tell that to the american who does not have a job because it went to china.

[SavageJim01]

Here is the problem, yes we need protectionism to protect against a protectionist country like China (China is protectionist, that is why there is a trade deficit with them). But the protectionism should be executed in a smart manner with SOME trade with China still. Going Smoot-Hawley is the wrong way of doing it.

[Scoforever]

But free trade is good for the country that has free trade even if others are protectionist. Eventually the high taxes required to subsidise these cheap products will end.

[SavageJim01]

Free trade from 1 country to another country that is also free trade is good yes.

But Good luck finding another country that is free trade like America. China is protectionist, not free trade. China subsidizes its businesses too much, they devalue their money on purpose. That is PROTECTIONIST.

[istraight1]

@SavageJim01 please tell to the the politicians.

[lappynet]

Please watch my video on protectionism. zpkXBmNA83M

[FluxCapacitor2008]

Its about our manufactures moving overseas making their shit with cheep labor then shipping back home to sell. Now the jobs are gone and no one can buy their shit. Hello bankruptcy.

We need protectionism to protect company from them selfs, so we dont have to bail them out every 8 years

[dferriman]

Everyone else is doing it, why can't we?

[Scoforever]

Because its bad for you.

[cliffw77]

I suggest you study protectionism a little further in depth there buddy, We lost our Jobs because of "free" trade under clinton, Our economy fails because we buy goods produced by slaves in china which are cheaper than anything we can produce, we need protectionism to offset this