Protectionism will solve US economic mess?

Florida proposes ban on Chinese goods

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/29/wflorida129.xml

 

the dim wit Mayor was on CNBC or someplace and had a hard time with the camera....

seemed as though it was his first time on air and it was kinda hilarious

 

Thats what murdoch said about bush, and he wasnt wrong.

 

Nop

 

As I understood the article, it isn't making the move only to solve econ problems. It was a move to be the first to force higher standards on chinese products.

Personally I think it is the appropriate thing to do. If you don't like the quality of goods, then don't buy them. They didn't put a ban on all chinese goods sold in the area. They simply said that city purchases weren't going to be chinese goods unless no alternative exists.

I think that to a degree this same thing is happening in the minds of some consumers. People are actually checking the labels right now. Maybe not many, but at least some.

My only thing is that our government shouldn't have to boycott chinese goods. US consumers' purchases should force China to raise standards.

High tarrifs and mass boycots will simply cause slower growth and innovation and lead to a recession, but comsumers have the obligation to refuse the sale of unacceptable goods.

 

simple solution:

whatever trade agreement a country has for OUR goods going in we will reciprocate?

 

good in many respects but it won't work well.

We have a very low ratio of exports to GDP. Most american goods are consumed in North America.

Best solution is to simply not use tarriffs, quotas and boycots as political tools. Using economic tools for political agendas always hurts the domestic consumer. Better to let the consumer decide what not to purchase and what price to pay.

 

Amen CL.

Good thing this guy is only a mayor!

 

Ya know...I;ve heard that same line from Reagan, Bush 1st, Clinton, Bush II......and its a total crock of shit...Japan has 700 Million people to feed yet we can only get about 200 lbs of rice a year into their market because of protection by the Japanese Gov't...China has 1 billion to feed...yet how come our farmers cant get their product in there? I understand the ' ideal' and that it should work ...but time and again history has shown it does not.

 

(Hmmm......Japan actually has about 127 million people.....but what's a few hundred million among friends?? )