Recent stories about the conditions of Apple's contractors in China have opened many people's eyes about where our jobs, factories, industries and economy have been going, and why. The stories exposed that workers live 6-to-12-to-a-room in dormitories, get rousted at midnight to work surprise 12-hour shifts, get paid very little, use toxic chemicals, suffer extreme pollution of the environment, etc. Is this "trade?" Or is it something else?
Is This "Trade?"
"Trade" means to exchange, to buy and sell, you buy from me and I buy from you. I have something you want and you have something I want, and we exchange. We both end up better off than where we started.
Is it "trade" to close a factory here and move it to a country where people don't have a say? It is "trade" to just move all of the machines from a factory here to a factory there, send the same parts and raw materials over there, and then bring bring back whatever it was the factory used to make and sell it in the same places here? Is that really "trade?" Or would another word be more appropriate?
When People Have A Say
When people have a say we insist on good wages, benefits, safe working conditions, and a clean environment. We even go so far as to say we want good public schools, parks and opportunities for our smaller businesses. When We, the People have a say we get so uppity and ask for the most outrageous things!
Efficiency vs. Humanity
Yes, countries where people do not have a say are more "efficient" and "business friendly." Countries where people do not have a say can make things at a much lower cost than workers where people have rights. But when we let exploitation of human beings be a competitive advantage it undermines our own democracy. It means that democracy is a competitive disadvantage in world markets.
We Can't "Compete" With This, We Have To Fight It
Let's get right to the core of this. Suppose the South actually did rise again, and they reimposed all-out slavery. Would it be "trade" to close factories here and move them south, so the companies would have lower costs?
When we allow companies to just import stuff that is made by exploited workers in countries where people do not have a say, we are granting not-having-a-say an advantage over having a say. We make democracy a competitive disadvantage.
This Is About Preserving Democracy, Not About "Trade"
How often do you come across arguments that "globalization" and "free trade" mean that America's workers have to accept that the days of good-paying jobs and U.S.-based manufacturing are over? We hear that countries like China are more "competitive." We hear that "trade" means that because it's cheaper to make things over there we all benefit from lower-cost goods that we import.
How often do you hear that we need to cut wages and benefits, work longer hours, get rid of overtime and sick pay? They say we should shed unions, get rid of environmental and safety regulations, gut government services, and especially, especially, especially we should cut taxes.
What they are saying is that we need to shed our democracy, to be more competitive.
P.S. Tell Congress and the White House to Stop China's Illegal and Unfair Trade Practices
This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture. I am a Fellow with CAF.
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Free Trade destroys individual prosperity for the majority of the our citizens.. Meaningful jobs are exported to countries primed for exploitation by corporations. Also, free trade destroys local community economies. By it’s own nature, Free trades destroys the American Dreams of all US citizens. [ US citizens have their rights to dream of freedom and prosperity]
When considered, Free Trade has never helped the US as the politicos promised. Products imported costs even higher, Corporations profit increases through cheap labor, major export / import fees and red tape are reduced, and the creation of new meaningful employment opportunities for the middle and low income groups are almost extinct.
Free trade and corporate supported illegal immigration have devastated the earnings of US families, micro-businesses, and [over all] small community revenues. Our unemployment is near or has exceeded the % prior to the Great Depression. The ongoing oppressive ‘free trade’ movement is the prelude to economic Globalization.
I will leave the in-depth truth about globalization to another; but, in essence, it will destroy our sovereignty, national security, freedoms and democracy. If one follows an economic globalization, ultimate conclusion will be one world plutocratic or corporatist government [or a combination of both].
Your move!
We cannot have both "free trade", or slave labor, and democracy at the same time. It is ethically and morally repugnant to our society. Of course there is always the few greedy ones who make life miserable for the rest, but they are becoming the minority quickly. Those that sold out America should be ashamed of themselves, and go into hiding, for they are scorned by their fellow countrymen.
As a beacon to freedom, protected by democracy and other institution, can not allow politicias to take control of our economic lives and decisions. Politicians are too easily controlled by special interests like the ones represented by the author of this article.
Freedom is important. Democracy correctly used is a tool to protect freedom.
If you choose to purchase a Ford rather than a Toyota do the Toyota workers get a vote? Even though you have purchased Toyota cars your whole life? If not why? You are purchasing the virtually the same good from a different source and putting the Toyota workers job at risk?
The above transaction is no different than the choice by a factory owner to purchase labor in Texas rather than Wisconsin or China.
Then the author compares working from low wages that are still many times higher than everything else available to slavery. A totally false comparison.
Sorry but giving more control over trade to politicians is not the path to prosperity.
That is, people still to this day think that US companies seek labor elsewhere because that is the only way for them to stay in business. They believe the recession we are facing is being caused by a lack of capital and investment when in fact it the overabundance thereof coupled with a lack of consumer class discretionary spending is the culprit.
Dispelling the myths and bringing light to the true nature of why jobs are outsourced would go a long way towards helping Americans make an educated vote with their dollars as opposed to being the mindless, brainwashed, impulsive herds of cattle that they've so adept at being.
As for the voting booth? "It's not who votes that counts, it's who counts the votes." -Josef Stalin.
No, that is only one form of democracy. There are many aspects of freedom which do not hinge on the almighty dollar. This is a very myopic way to view the world.
Unfortunately for you, free-exchange through trade is the highest form of Democracy. The people have voted and they like cheaper goods rather than being forced, through coercive government regulations, to pay more for goods to support your union friends. So I guess you can have both free trade and democracy.
You finish by pointing out that ‘…arguments that "globalization" and "free trade" mean that America's workers have to accept that the days of good-paying jobs and U.S.-based manufacturing are over?’
Not over but evolving. The real money is now in service jobs not in manufacturing, much of which is being disintermediated through robotics…even in China, and even Apple makes several fold more than Foxconn which manufactures its phones. The money is in the design, the programming, the marketing,…heck even the ‘genius’ that sells it makes more than the person that assembles it. And that is the way it should be.
You want to protect manufacturing because you think this low-margin, highly polluting, boring and repetitive jobs, are the answer to the future…they are not and subsidizing and protecting them to the disadvantage of other industries in order to provide make-work jobs for people with low/no education and marketable skills is a recipe for economic disaster. We should be embracing a change in our economy that allows people to spend less to support themselves.
Kai
If that is the case, then please explain why America's trade deficit is so bad? From my perspective, we are funding the economic development of the rest of the world.
"We should be embracing a change in our economy that allows people to spend less to support themselves."
This I agree with.
It is not bad at all. All it indicates is that people in other countries want to invest in the US. It is too bad that so much of the investment is wasted through government debt, but that is the choice of our politicians not people from other countries.
What most people don't realize is that by creating import taxes and tariffs on products, this would mainly replace funding the federal government through income taxes. So yes, products from foreign entities would cost more, but the people would also have more money to spend on those products. Also, if you place taxes on imports, it once again makes us competitive. So we would be able to manufacture our own products at a competitive rate, and companies that are overseas would open up shop in the US, to avoid the costs associated with imports. I understand what you are saying about evolving, unfortunately a service based economy is a shell game unless you are servicing on an international scale. For the most part what we currently do is shuffle the same money around from person to person in our economy, while a steady flow is leaving the country to never be recouped. As for manufacturing not making money, I work for a US based manufacturing company, and the company makes millions in profit while employing hundreds of people in decent to well paying jobs. A great deal of these jobs are skilled labor. To have a completely service based economy would be and is demonstrating at this time to be an economic disaster.
Really….which modern economy that relies on high tariffs has lower taxes? If anything economic activity declines and you make less, not more, in taxes.
You go on, ‘So yes, products from foreign entities would cost more, but the people would also have more money to spend on those products.’
The old less is more argument. So poor people pay more for their shoes and have less while the middle class and rich pay less income tax? Why do you hate the poor so much that you want to levy more taxes on them and less on the rich?
And this will create a lot of jobs, like when we raised tariffs on steel and drove our car industry to Canada and Mexico. Or how we drove our soda and candy industry into Mexico by putting tariffs and subsidies on sugar and its substitute product corn syrup.
And of course if we protect our weak industries, say like textiles, there is no worry about our trade partners retaliating against are strong industries, say medical devices, etc.
Congratulations! It means your industry does not need my tax dollars or expropriated consumption power to fund you, right?
You state, ‘To have a completely service based economy would be and is demonstrating at this time to be an economic disaster.’
How so? We are nearly 88% service already, with only 12% due to direct manufacturing…yet our GDP is better than it ever has been.
Kai
http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2012010423/hold-cheaters-fraudsters-and-exploiters-accountable-get-our-economy-back