Free Trade Is the Best Policy - F2T

[yongrel]

http://freedomtotrade.org/petition

From Freedom To Trade, an excellent organization dedicated to promoting free trade the world over.

Excerpt:
The specter of protectionism is rising. It is always a dangerous and foolish policy, but it is especially dangerous at a time of economic crisis, when it threatens to damage the world economy. Protectionism’s peculiar premise is that national prosperity is increased when government grants monopoly power to domestic producers. As centuries of economic reasoning, historical experience, and empirical studies have repeatedly shown, that premise is dead wrong. Protectionism creates poverty, not prosperity. Protectionism doesn’t even “protect” domestic jobs or industries; it destroys them, by harming export industries and industries that rely on imports to make their goods. Raising the local prices of steel by “protecting” local steel companies just raises the cost of producing cars and the many other goods made with steel. Protectionism is a fool’s game.

But the fact that protectionism destroys wealth is not its worst consequence. Protectionism destroys peace. That is justification enough for all people of good will, all friends of civilization, to speak out loudly and forcefully against economic nationalism, an ideology of conflict, based on ignorance and carried into practice by protectionism.

Continue reading... (http://freedomtotrade.org/petition)

Learn more about them here: http://freedomtotrade.org/

And don't forget to sign the petition. (http://freedomtotrade.org/petition)

[__27__]

YAY FOR FREE TRADE!!!!!!!

Signed.

[sratiug]

Free trade is a lie. Trade is for profit. We must secede from the British empire, again.

Replace the word protectionism in the last paragraph with gun and re-read. It says guns cause war. Bullshit.

[__27__]

Free trade is a lie. Trade is for profit. We must secede from the British empire, again.

Replace the word protectionism in the last paragraph with gun and re-read. It says guns cause war. Bullshit.

:rolleyes:

Back to this are we? Do you support minimum wage?

[erowe1]

Hey wait! Stratiug is right! When you arbitrarily change the words of that website so that it says something totally different than what it now says, then it's all wrong!

[Met Income]

Free trade is a lie. Trade is for profit. We must secede from the British empire, again.

Replace the word protectionism in the last paragraph with gun and re-read. It says guns cause war. Bullshit.

Why would you not trade for profit?

If you restrict free trade, you are harming my right to do business. You have no right to do that.

[sratiug]

:rolleyes:

Back to this are we? Do you support minimum wage?

No. I support domestic free trade. That's why I want to replace all internal federal taxes with a flat tariff.

[sratiug]

Hey wait! Stratiug is right! When you arbitrarily change the words of that website so that it says something totally different than what it now says, then it's all wrong!

Is a gun protectionist? Does a gun cause war?

[sratiug]

Why would you not trade for profit?

If you restrict free trade, you are harming my right to do business. You have no right to do that.

A flat tariff replacing internal taxes could enable you to have free trade in America, instead of only with foreigners. It would be less restrictive of free trade overall, because it would end our subsidizing of imports.

[Met Income]

A flat tariff replacing internal taxes could enable you to have free trade in America, instead of only with foreigners. It would be less restrictive of free trade overall, because it would end our subsidizing of imports.

Or we could, not subsidize import, not charge tariffs and have an actual free market.

[yongrel]

Free trade is a lie. Trade is for profit. We must secede from the British empire, again.

Replace the word protectionism in the last paragraph with gun and re-read. It says guns cause war. Bullshit.

Everything about your post is ridiculous. The petition is sound and the cause is unassailable.

[sratiug]

Everything about your post is ridiculous. The petition is sound and the cause is unassailable.

Do you believe a flat tariff would restrict free trade more than internal taxes do?

Do you believe a flat tariff would subsidize American production as much as internal taxes subsidize imports?

[Anti Federalist]

FDR commenting on the much needed (insane) growth of government to provide benefits for all:


while big government existed to protect the individual from big business, the individual paradoxically faded out in FDR's worldview, [B]changed in the president's imagination into a unit in the great social machine. "For it is literally true that the self-supporting man or woman has become as extinct as the man of the stone age," he declared. "Without the help of thousands of others, any one of us would die, naked and starved."

Amazing, sounds exactly like the globalist "free traders" around here.

[yongrel]

Bump

[sratiug]

Bump

Bump for an answer to post number twelve. Or did I forget to pay the internal tax on questions? Can I only ask questions of foreigners without paying tax?

[yongrel]

Do you believe a flat tariff would restrict free trade more than internal taxes do?

Do you believe a flat tariff would subsidize American production as much as internal taxes subsidize imports?

I believe that a flat tariff is not realistic, nor desirable. It would be the edge of the wedge, so to speak, in that it would open the door to further, more egregious protectionism. For politicians to be kept from acting in their own self-interest against that of the people, there must be firm restraints on their ability to act. Free trade agreements, like constitutions, limit the ability of politicians to be self-serving. I do not see this also being true for flat tariffs.

As for you question about whether is has more or less restrictive properties than internal taxation, I believe you are comparing apples to oranges. While neither fruit is desirable, one is clearly more harmful. As Bastiat said, "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." The case for international trade is a case for peace and prosperity. Internal taxes jeopardize domestic prosperity, but we cannot even begin to debate that subject if we are at war. The destructive power of protectionism far outweighs the destruction wreaked by taxation, though both are unquestionably harmful.

[NYgs23]

There's a difference between honest free trade, in which people are simply free to exchange goods and services regardless of the geographic location, and international State-managed trade. To conflate the two, thereby suggesting that we must choose between old mercantilistic protectionism and political globalism, is as disingenuous as Leftists who conflate big business fascism with the free market to suggest that we must choose between socialism and corporate fascism.

[Anti Federalist]

As Bastiat said, "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will."

If Bastiat is correct, then why do we, as the most open "free trade" country on earth, have soldiers in over 100 countries around the world?

[Anti Federalist]

There's a difference between honest free trade, in which people are simply free to exchange goods and services regardless of the geographic location, and international State-managed trade. To conflate the two, thereby suggesting that we must choose between old mercantilistic protectionism and political globalism, is as disingenuous as Leftists who conflate big business fascism with the free market to suggest that we must choose between socialism and corporate fascism.

That^^ +1

[Brian4Liberty]

Where's the petition to end the current government protectionism of Goldman Sachs and friends. Or is economic Fascism ok as long is it comes along with a "Free Trade" label?

[erowe1]

There's a difference between honest free trade, in which people are simply free to exchange goods and services regardless of the geographic location, and international State-managed trade. To conflate the two, thereby suggesting that we must choose between old mercantilistic protectionism and political globalism, is as disingenuous as Leftists who conflate big business fascism with the free market to suggest that we must choose between socialism and corporate fascism.

Exactly! Protectionism and managed trade are both equally wrong.

[sratiug]

I believe that a flat tariff is not realistic, nor desirable. It would be the edge of the wedge, so to speak, in that it would open the door to further, more egregious protectionism. For politicians to be kept from acting in their own self-interest against that of the people, there must be firm restraints on their ability to act. Free trade agreements, like constitutions, limit the ability of politicians to be self-serving. I do not see this also being true for flat tariffs.

A tariff that is passed by constitutional amendment could be flat for all goods from all sources and the same amendment could abolish all internal taxes. This would greatly limit political bullshit and corporate lobbying. There should obviously be about a 10 year phaze over.

I can't believe you would support free trade "agreements", such as NAFTA. It doesn't take any agreement to eliminate tariffs.




As for you question about whether is has more or less restrictive properties than internal taxation, I believe you are comparing apples to oranges. While neither fruit is desirable, one is clearly more harmful. As Bastiat said, "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." The case for international trade is a case for peace and prosperity. Internal taxes jeopardize domestic prosperity, but we cannot even begin to debate that subject if we are at war. The destructive power of protectionism far outweighs the destruction wreaked by taxation, though both are unquestionably harmful.

Why are you so afraid of foreigners that you will enslave your neighbor to appease them? You are dead wrong. There is a natural law of proximity. That which is closer matters most. You demand free trade internationally and trade away your freedoms here to attain it. Not to mention the inescapable fact that country A paying internal taxes to subsidize imports from country B is welfare, while country A using tariffs to pay its government's bills is not.

[Met Income]

Where's the petition to end the current government protectionism of Goldman Sachs and friends. Or is economic Fascism ok as long is it comes along with a "Free Trade" label?

Straw man's argument, much?

[Met Income]

No internal taxes, no tariffs, how about that?

[Cowlesy]

interesting thread

[yongrel]

bump

[sratiug]

bump

Why are you so afraid of foreigners that you will enslave your neighbor to appease them?