Brian O’Shaughnessy, CPA’s Co-Chair for Manufacturing, was interviewed by Scott Rasmussen (of “Rasmussen Reports”) on “What America Thinks” a new nationally syndicated show featuring interviews with various experts on the economy. Mr. O’Shaughnessy faced off against Mary Kissel of the Wall Street Journal editorial board.
The interview can be seen below. The host focused upon recent polling result showing voters want government to do more about manufacturing, and included trade policy. Ms. Kissel argued that cheap Chinese imports benefit America.
Mr. O’Shaughnessy countered with facts about his company’s experience, showing that China cannot be competitive in our markets without various types of trade cheating.
“If cheap labor is China’s advantage, why would they have to manipulate currency, use a valued added tax on imports, and subsidizes state-owned industry?” said O’Shaughnessy.
I hope you enjoy the show, “What America Thinks”.
No she didn’t! Mary Kissel says that what we have to do is “train these workers to compete.” It just goes to show that anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about.
She is at least ten years behind in her thinking. Even the most ardent globalists are beginning to realize that cheap imported goods are not a bargain if they save you $2,000 per year at the store, but cost you $20,000 a year in diminished wages.
Manufacturing creates wealth. Services do not and retail does not. Without manufacturing, we are shipping our wealth and our jobs to China in exchange for cheap stuff.
China might appear to be our benefactor, but they are leading us into a trap that will cause our grandchildren to curse us. They are doing this with the full cooperation of our greedy, corrupt, incompetent government.
Nice comment Bruce. I don’t agree it’s cheap stuff though. if companies lowered prices to match labor cost savings their bottom lines would suffer. They get the savings, price stays up here for a very long time, if not forever. Over time, foreign companies develop technical parity, which in China is part of the deal. Americans will be kicked out of China unless Chinese companies are allowed to buy up America. It’s a death sentence for the American majority.The Germans remain protectionist, and their wages dwarf what Americans are paid. Germany is now the only hope Europe has. This is the legacy of free trade. America is in the toilet. Germany is in the black.
Kissel’s position is that of most of academia, who promote the theory of comparative advantage to all of their students. The real solution is a new theory of economics to expose the error of academia and free trade theory: rescuingeconomics.worpress.com
Ian Fletcher, CPA’s senior economist, says: “Now the first thing to remember about this is that what we have today under the name of “free trade” isn’t free trade at all. It’s free on America’s part, because our market is about 98 percent open to the world. But in the other direction, it’s not. It’s mostly mercantilism: gaming the system. So even if the theoretical case for free trade were valid, it wouldn’t apply to our present circumstances.” “The Conservative Case Against Free Trade,” p22.
Paul Craig Roberts, in his book “How The Economy Was Lost,” says: “The offshoring of American jobs is the antithesis of free trade. Free trade is based on comparative advangtage. Jobs offshoring is an activity in pursuit of lowest factor cost-an activity that David Ricardo, the originator of the free trade theory, described as the betrayal of one’s own country . . .” p155.
Paul Craig Roberts is a former Assistant Treasury Secretary and was the co-founder of Reaganomics.
Economics is a fraud and needs to be replaced with high school physics. If stuff gets out of balance it tends to topple over.
Thank You again Bruce,Larry and Mr.O’Shaunessy for stepping up to the plate and taking a hit for all the people that still believe in American manufacturing and the importance of. I feel we have been to a large degree sold out by our own government. Changing this dynamic will be noting short of a miracle because most people either don’t know or care or understand the true nature or implications of these problems when they shop.
The american consumer will not benefit from cheaper products if they lose their good paying jobs. Mary Kissel is a brainwashed GLOBALIST.If this country don’t wake up and realize that china is not our wonderfull friend and Obama is one of them ,then your even dummer than your way of thinking!My son is not going to fight for anti american elitists .Who will realize that they are in danger for gutting our country out and giving all the power to the enemies. Let her go find a new career at her ripe old age? See where it gets ya! We are killing the family and our security from these trade away agreements! She says compete.how? We have no markets to sell to,they gave them all to communist countries!!!! I have watched while a whole textile industry went bust,myself included ! There is no investment or prosperity!!! She is to much! These people do not understand they have sold out their countrymen! What next, Do we ask china to fight for our country next cause they pay their troops less or better yet nothing but rice? The polititions will not change! We must make them!! Our founding fathers warned us about these kind of attacks on our constitutional rights. We need a no work rally,till they give a order to get out of all these agreements that have distributed the wealth to foreign countries.Remember Obama saying to the russian,after I get elected I will have more flexability??? We the people have a govn’t that is not working for the better good of our people, people like Mary have got to CHANGE their way of thinking,GET THIS DOWN,cheap is cheapaning our lives,maybe yours have not been effected yet,but it will be.You can’t owe the world forever,soon they will crush us for this way of doing business. What has it got US??? DEBT,unpayable!!!! She is nuts wanting to tell our manufacturers they are just going to have to find other jobs its INEVITABLE! We can’t stop them from leaving?? WHEN this happens in china there will be a revolution and they know it.That’s what needs to happen here,or they will not CHANGE.If they go overseas they sell it over there or it gets a 50% plus tariff to sell BACK TO our own markets,how about that,just like other countries do to OURS. THEN THEY WILL STAY HERE !Free Trade? NO Thanks.
Give Brian the last word,not this GLOBALIST.