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originally posted by: Flatfish
I propose that China's policy towards Boeing is "dead-on" right and should be the foundational understanding for all future trade agreements.
IMO, The only "Fair" trade deal is one that allows each nation to protect their own economies and standards of living against unfair competition and the only way to realistically accomplish that goal is by adopting a "Build It Where You Sell It Policy."
originally posted by: xuenchen
originally posted by: Flatfish
I propose that China's policy towards Boeing is "dead-on" right and should be the foundational understanding for all future trade agreements.
IMO, The only "Fair" trade deal is one that allows each nation to protect their own economies and standards of living against unfair competition and the only way to realistically accomplish that goal is by adopting a "Build It Where You Sell It Policy."
I agree !!
Good analysis.
But "countries" and especially "workers" are up against international interests that may not agree.
Financial influences seem to win out more times than not.
originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: Flatfish
Sanders could indeed be effective.
But think of the resistance.
Lots of resistance.
What say you ATS?
The revolution that Bernie is promoting requires that "We The People" become the "Resistance" and stand up to the big corporate interests that are destroying the American Dream and way of life.
The only thing that's for sure is that it won't change if we don't demand it and I have a feeling we're not going to get our middle class back until we do.
originally posted by: Boadicea
a reply to: Flatfish
The revolution that Bernie is promoting requires that "We The People" become the "Resistance" and stand up to the big corporate interests that are destroying the American Dream and way of life.
The only thing that's for sure is that it won't change if we don't demand it and I have a feeling we're not going to get our middle class back until we do.
Again, spot on!!!
This is why it's so very important that we stop this crony capitalist corporatocracy and return to a true free market, because that's exactly where our power is. Government intervention/regulation increasingly limits our choices and options, thus denying us the ability to control where and how our world's natural resources and bounty are developed and distributed. We have less and less power to vote with our wallets so to speak.
Just think of that corporate monster Monsanto and how hard they fight any GMO labeling and using the courts to force their frankenseeds on farmers and therefore the world and on and on. But the people have clearly spoken their will and desires and they want NOTHING to do with this poison, but government does everything they can to protect and enable and empower Monsanto while brazenly defying our will and forcing their tainted goods on us.
Big Pharma is another gross example of how government intervention/regulation puts Big Profit before our best interests, our health, even our very lives! Just consider cannabis. Clinical medical research, as well as medical observation, tells us that cannabis has many MANY healing qualities, including cancer and antibiotic resistant staph infections... but it's classified as a drug with no medicinal value. Those who know best that it does indeed have healing qualities should be DEMANDING that it be removed from schedule I drugs. Instead, they're doing everything they can to turn it into a patentable -- and therefore profitable -- product, even if the whole unpatenable plant has exponentially greater healing qualities.
I wonder which most people would choose: an all-natural healing medicine that they can cultivate and make themselves, with minimal adverse side effects and absolutely no possibility of killing you OR Big Pharma's ridiculously priced poison pills with more negative effects than positive, including the possibility of death? (I think I know... but Big Pharma sure doesn't want to find out for sure!)
originally posted by: Boadicea
The other disaster on Clinton's watch (though not his doing alone) was the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the passage of Gramm-Leach-Bliley... we still haven't suffered the worst of that yet...
While I agree with most everything you said here, I think the root of the problem comes from inadequate and/or ineffective government regulations written by special interest lawyers and lobbyist, specifically designed to enhance the profit margins of corporate America.
I would argue that regulation, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.
That's not to say that we don't have plenty of outdated or counterproductive regulations that need to be updated or repealed either.
Sometimes it's more regulation that's needed, like regulation demanding the labeling of GMO products for instance.
I think Bernie said it best when he told Hillary that "Congress doesn't regulate Wall St. anymore, Wall St. regulates Congress."
originally posted by: Boadicea
a reply to: Flatfish
While I agree with most everything you said here, I think the root of the problem comes from inadequate and/or ineffective government regulations written by special interest lawyers and lobbyist, specifically designed to enhance the profit margins of corporate America.
I would argue that regulation, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.
That's not to say that we don't have plenty of outdated or counterproductive regulations that need to be updated or repealed either.
Sometimes it's more regulation that's needed, like regulation demanding the labeling of GMO products for instance.
I think Bernie said it best when he told Hillary that "Congress doesn't regulate Wall St. anymore, Wall St. regulates Congress."
I totally agree -- so I must not have expressed myself clearly enough. My apologies. A free market isn't about "more" regulation or "less" regulation, it's about the right regulation.... Regulation that ensures a level playing field, fair labor and trade practices, and making sure it works for the greater good of ALL. A free market does not allow one party to lie and defraud another party... it protects the integrity of negotiations and contracts. A true free market does not allow shortchanging of goods... it protects my trust that if I purchase a pound of goods that I get a pound of goods. A true free market does not artificially restrict/prohibit my access to goods with nurture and sustain my health and life... it promotes the greatest access and availability. A true free market regulates to protect and promote the best interests of the consumer, and therefore society as a whole.
I'm ready to try something different and right or wrong, Bernie's record and message resonates with me.
The one thing I do know, is that it's kinda dumb to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.
originally posted by: Boadicea
If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would even be considering voting for a self-declared socialist, I would have told them they had rocks in their head... and yet, here I am doing exactly that (although Gary Johnson who just declared for the Libertarian party nomination is still a strong contender). But I've learned much -- and had many delusions shattered -- in the last 20 years. We have strayed so far from our organic law and the social contract that Bernie's vision is closer to our roots than any other candidate now...
I've always liked Bernie and what he stands for. Although I have to admit, I never thought he had a chance of being POTUS because of his willingness to describe himself as a Democratic Socialist.
Over time, I came to realize that in actuality, he no more socialist than I am. He's just not afraid to accurately describe himself as one in public.
We all know that sometimes, the best results are obtained through a unified group effort and not left to the whims of a capitalist market. Things like education, healthcare, policing, firefighting, road & highway construction, public transportation, zoos, parks, etc....
I think his time has come.