Comments on: “There are prices to pay,” said Mr. Dan Ikenson… http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/30/%e2%80%9cthere-are-prices-to-pay%e2%80%9d-said-mr-dan-ikenson/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:43:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Pete Murphy http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/30/%e2%80%9cthere-are-prices-to-pay%e2%80%9d-said-mr-dan-ikenson/#comment-23477 Pete Murphy Thu, 01 May 2008 14:10:38 +0000 http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/30/%e2%80%9cthere-are-prices-to-pay%e2%80%9d-said-mr-dan-ikenson/#comment-23477 Great article! I'd just like to make a few observations: 1. The CATO Institute is one of those "think tanks" that thinks exactly what it's paid to think by its corporate sponsors. They should not be afforded any measure of credibility in any objective analysis of U.S. policy or its effects. 2. Corporations are interested in growth in sales volume and profits, nothing more. It's in their best interest to pursue markets in overpopulated countries to fuel that growth, but it is not in the best interest of the common good to take on their bloated labor forces through free trade. Capitalism is our servant, not our master. 3. "Day-to-day, it seems great to buy a $5 Chinese t-shirt instead of a $10 American t-shirt. But when the U.S. textile worker loses his good-paying job at the t-shirt factory, and downshifts to a $7/hour retail job, it’s hard to see how many t-shirts he’ll be able to buy at all." We have got to stop thinking of ourselves as two separate groups - consumers and workers. Every consumer is either a worker or is dependent on one. Every worker is a consumer. Anything that tends to drive up a demand for labor (like avoiding trade with overpopulated nations with bloated labor forces) is beneficial to the group as a whole. Because labor is only two thirds of the cost to produce a product, policies that drive a demand for labor are good for both labor and consumers. Policies that focus on driving down price by reducing the demand for labor are destructive. 4. "Mr. Ikenson needs to look at the big picture and make serious adjustments for the failings of the current model of trade that he and his colleagues espouse." Truer words were never spoken! Pete Murphy Author, Five Short Blasts Great article! I’d just like to make a few observations:

1. The CATO Institute is one of those “think tanks” that thinks exactly what it’s paid to think by its corporate sponsors. They should not be afforded any measure of credibility in any objective analysis of U.S. policy or its effects.

2. Corporations are interested in growth in sales volume and profits, nothing more. It’s in their best interest to pursue markets in overpopulated countries to fuel that growth, but it is not in the best interest of the common good to take on their bloated labor forces through free trade. Capitalism is our servant, not our master.

3. “Day-to-day, it seems great to buy a $5 Chinese t-shirt instead of a $10 American t-shirt. But when the U.S. textile worker loses his good-paying job at the t-shirt factory, and downshifts to a $7/hour retail job, it’s hard to see how many t-shirts he’ll be able to buy at all.”

We have got to stop thinking of ourselves as two separate groups - consumers and workers. Every consumer is either a worker or is dependent on one. Every worker is a consumer. Anything that tends to drive up a demand for labor (like avoiding trade with overpopulated nations with bloated labor forces) is beneficial to the group as a whole. Because labor is only two thirds of the cost to produce a product, policies that drive a demand for labor are good for both labor and consumers. Policies that focus on driving down price by reducing the demand for labor are destructive.

4. “Mr. Ikenson needs to look at the big picture and make serious adjustments for the failings of the current model of trade that he and his colleagues espouse.” Truer words were never spoken!

Pete Murphy
Author, Five Short Blasts

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