this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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The economy has changed tremendously since Reagan was in office. I think in order for the US economy to improve we need to accept we are a just a part of the global economy and enforce fair trade.
Free trade was always just a shiny feel good label for allowing the ruling class of America to exploit cheap labor who have less protections in foreign countries to increase profit margins. But hey, we paid them a pittance to pollute their land and work 20 hours days. Fair trade.
Funny, that's not how free trade between the US and Canada worked out. The US got all our manufacturing, because the US is a shitty place that exploits poor low cost laborers who have less protection than competing workers in Canada.
I'm not sure about all that...Big business making sweat shops and the American government demanding equal trade aren't the same at all. If whatever country chooses to not regulate their factories and work practices that, again, is not the fault of the US government. Fair trade in a global market should be the only standard or trade.
The free trade argument is based on the economic theory of comparative advantage. This just ends up being a measure of which market can be most effectively exploited for gain from every smaller nation a country like the US trades with.
These smaller countries end up producing a disproportionate amount of a small category of goods. Efficiency is good right? Well, it is until there's some form of economic disruption or downturn that suddenly lowers demand for that good. Then suddenly all the other things the country doesn't focus on are extremely expensive as the local currency devalues and they can't afford food and other core goods which they don't produce enough of. Hey, good news though, now their labor is even cheaper and we can have them work for pennies making something else so they don't starve.
Fair trade means the government doesn't interfere and tax things, it's the same thing as free trade. It's a really great system. For billionaires who own companies and would love to own slaves if they could. This is the next best thing though.