Ron (dehede011@aol.com) offered:
<<Spudboy,
I think the real question is why should we be content with their trade
practices? It is perfectly okay with me if they are content but that imposes
no burden for us to agree with them.
I think you will find this find this acceptance of an uneven playing
field between us and the Japanese goes back to the cold war and that was over
ten years ago.
However, personally I have no problem with the Japanese looking out for
themselves but I do have a problem with our government not looking out for
our side. >>
That is the problem with the Chamber of Commerce mentality, anyway. There is
little 'economic nationalism' on our part, but there is a huge reservoir in
Asian economies. However, in light of 9-11, I suspect that US perspective,
our collective hierarchy of needs has changed. At some point, however many
years down the road, reciprocity will be desired by the American public, and
that will likely compel the elected officials to start heeding public demand.
<<Example, a couple of years ago we negotiated a new deal with the
Vietnamese. As I understand the deal we got to invest all the money we
wanted in their country and they got to sell all the manufactured goods they
wanted in our country. The question is did they open their markets to our
manufactured goods?
Ron h. >>
The simple answer is no, the Vietnamese did not open their markets. As many
realize, the rest of the world doesn't have the Anglo obsession with free
markets. If many of the other world's economies (people's) achieve a sense of
satisfaction with manipulated markets, then who are we to object? That answer
is; we object when our own ox is gored. Americans, in the aftermath of
September, are not howling in the streets over Japanese dumping, or the
importation of H-1B's to compete directly for programming jobs. We are 'ok'
with it, by in large, and from a real-world point of view, that is all that
matters. I am not concluding, that mass torchlight parades be held in the
streets in opposition to this issue. Merely, that we are, for whatever
reason, content with things so far. Perhaps Abe Maslow figures in the
situation somewhere?
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:31 MDT