Smarty_Pants

The Great Experiment

"We can't give companies in China/others free access to our markets and expect American companies to compete when the American companies must pay minimum wages that are much higher, benefits, follow strict environmental regulations, etc, etc, etc. Why can their companies sell items here without following OUR government rules that we must follow to sell here? ... While I'd love Free Trade, it first must be Fair." - Robert Nabloid

I respectively disagree. The differences you note are what make progress possible. The division of labor allows the parties with competitive advantages in one area supply others who then apply the advantages they have in another area to supply still others. Whoever can meet a market need most efficiently should 'win' so that a minimum of resources are utilized in the effort.

It is possible to compete with 'cheap' labor. America did so for some time by becoming more productive than foreigners. One American worker at $30 could produce more than 3 foreign workers at $10 via automation advances. If we can't do that any more then we should be looking for other areas where we have an advantage over foreigners. This is the natural progression of economics.

We must find the areas where we surpass the rest of the world in productivity and compete there. Any gub'mint attempt to "level the playing field" only serves to hurt the American consumer by forcing them to pay more than they would otherwise. The gub'mint could be a great help by minimizing the taxation and regulation they impose on our businesses to no effect other than piling on costs.

Our forefathers turned a backwater nation of farmers in 1800 into an economic powerhouse by 1900, not by complaining about whether other countries were 'fair', but by figuring out how to do things better and/or cheaper. We can do the same if we really decide to apply ourselves.