There seems to be a storm brewing in Washington DC over our trade issues with China, and until they are straightened out, it makes little or no sense for us to further stimulate our economy, because all that money will just end up in China in three or four transactions after circulating here. Thus, who would we really be stimulating us or them, and if that whole “us versus them” issue bothers you, realize that this is the way they see us too.
In fact, China has done things to further unbalance trade with the USA, and goes out of its way to ‘win-big’ at our expense. International Trade should be a win-win, but when trading partners don’t see it that way, it becomes a win-lose, and right now; we are losing. We can’t afford to do that any longer, China is no longer a poor third world country – their GDP makes them the number 2-3 economy in the World.
Now then, you’ve probably read in the news the latest hoopla over Chinese steel? The Chinese Steel issue is real, and it’s a real problem, and as much as I get upset with Unions and their dirty business in Washington DC, they are correct in the case of Chinese subsidies for steel, and alternative energy jobs, and they are soaking up a good bit of our stimulus money because of it.
Before I retired our company did a good amount of business with Kinder Morgan pipeline company and I remember having these conversations with some of the crew managers out in the field. These are extremely serious issues, and we don’t need to be reminded what happens when pipelines go bad, as in San Bruno last week.
Indeed, I imagine at some point there will be a giant US consumer boycott of China, actually in China they are already doing it to Japanese companies and some American companies with its own consumers due to the media reports of labor practices at our factories there, when in reality it is against the law to strike at a Chinese owned factory and they control the media if you do, so no one knows around the world.
Some people think that everything we buy comes from China? Well, no not everything at Wal-Mart comes from China, the socks I am wearing came from Pakistan for instance! ha ha ha. Much to the angst of those out of work textile workers in Monterrey Mexico (of course all those workers have now made their way here to the US to work now) and all the old textile mills in South Carolina, well, that’s all history now.
But smile, because we do know that the Chinese are building all their Red Army Chinese Navy ships out of Chinese steel, and that just makes me grin. Okay, so think on that whole issue for a moment and realize our trade policies are indeed linked to our military strategies, diplomacy strategies, energy policies and so on. Please consider all this. customized fuzzy socks