"Free" Trade Xfers Wealth From The 99% to the 1%

[Martin Hash]

"Free" Trade is often touted by its proponents as a way for Americans to get cheaper goods but actually they don't because in the end the goods cost the same price with the supposed discount going to the 1%. Consider a business that runs on dollars begins doing its manufacturing in China; the business must trade those dollars for Chinese currency, but what does China do with the dollars? They buy U.S. Treasuries, but that means American taxpayers have to pay for it. You can easily see that offshoring makes the 1% & foreigners wealthy at everyone else's expense, and puts the lie to the old canard that Americans get cheaper goods because paying off the Treasuries must be added to the cost of the goods, a basic externality that everyone ignores.

[Smitty-48]

You don't have a free trade agreement with China, these are the countries you have free trade agreements with;

Australia
Bahrain
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Israel
Jordan
Korea
Mexico
Morocco
Nicaragua
Oman
Panama
Peru
Singapore

You're blaming the wrong thing, if you had a free trade agreement with China, the Chinese would have to lower their barriers to you, but since you don't have a free trade agreement with China, they put up more barriers to you than you put up to them, which is the opposite of a free trade agreement.

The issue with the Chinese if not free trade, the issue with the Chinese is that they manipulate their currency to keep it low against the US dollar, and have no labour standards, which lures US companies to China, without any free trade agreement at all.

The only countries where you have free trade agreements and a trade deficit, are Mexico and South Korea, a combined -$70 billion, with all other free trade partners, you have a surplus, with Canada, Australia, and Singapore combining for +$57 billion, even with Mexico and South Korea, you have a net surplus on all free trade agreements combined, of about +$7 billion, take Mexico and South Korea out of the equation, and your net surplus would be +$77 billion.

Your three largest trade deficits; -$320 billion with China, -$62 billion with Japan, and -$60 billion with Germany, are all countries which you do NOT have free trade agreements with.

[Ex-California]

Somewhat related we allow the Chinese wealthy to come and park their wealth in our real estate, cutting supply and driving up prices for the people who actually live here

Nuke China

[Martin Hash]

Smitty is right, America's "Free" Trade with China is only one way - we "Free" Trade with them. They're not corrupted enough as a nation to allow "Free" Trade. I mean, who would if you actually thought about the damage it did to your nation?

[de officiis]

And people wonder why Trump wants to end the divisiveness with Russia and focus on what China's up to. Fucking stupid.

[TheReal_ND]

I was just remarking on this the other day to someone. If we are going to pivot towards an adversary we are chasing the dragon going after Russia. China is a much more real threat in the long run. Not only are they hacking us relentlessly but they are highly unstable if automation ever does come on line to any extent.

[Martin Hash]

Compare if Apple spends $10 million building a factory in the U.S. employing American workers who pay taxes and buy things from people who pay taxes and buy things, and so forth. But if Apple spends the same money in China, Chinese workers get the money, the U.S. receives no taxes, the Chinese workers buy things from Chinese people who pay no taxes to the U.S., and so forth, so the U.S. receives nothing, EXCEPT it gets WORSE... The $10 million comes back in the form of China buying U.S. Treasuries, so the U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for the $10 million!

[Fife]

Mr Hash, inventor of the $4,000 iPhone.


Pro tip: Don't sell treasuries to the chinks. Problem solved.

Oh wait, that does counter signal against your program of printing our way sober.

[Martin Hash]

Mr Hash, inventor of the $4,000 iPhone.

Counting paying back the Treasuries, it may already be a $4,000 iPhone.

[Fife]

Mr Hash, inventor of the $4,000 iPhone.

Counting paying back the Treasuries, it may already be a $4,000 iPhone.

You already tolt us we don't hafta pay that shit back. We got all the carrier groups n shit.

Which way is it?