Quote from kandlekid:
Well, I think it's good if you have a competitive advantage. If not, it's not so good.
So said the mercantilists. So said the east india company. Mercantilism is proven destructive by economists of all schools time and time again, yet there are still exists adherents who claim it is better.
History is renown for having trade restrictions that have been deemed in favour of the economy at whole. And who is doing all this lobbying. The industries that benefit from it.
Meanwhile everyone else suffers. Capital is not put to where it should go, and instead is forced to inefficient industry. When money is thrown at useless companies like GM, other industries like the high tech suffer. For the labour that is taken out of the pool could be better used in that industry. Therefore, we are less competitive in that industry that we do better in naturally.
It's a no brainer. Because of free trade, we now can buy more then we ever could. Because of free trade, everything is cheaper.
Economics is all about efficiency. That is what makes it economical. It is retarded to suggest that any regulation that changes that natural efficiency is better.
Golden rule: If you force labour towards a non-competitive industry, you make another competitive industry less competitive by a factor of greater loss as there is gain in the other.
It is non sensical. There is no logical argument to not have free trade. It is a backward redneck attitude that for some frustrating reason cannot conceive the flexiblity of the workforce to deploy to other industry.
It is Joe the plumber looking out for Joe the plumber and soaking up capital.
This is half the reason the united states is suffering, because they still have parts of it's industry stuck in the 1700's.