FREE TRADE UNDER ATTACK FROM IGNORANCE -- AS ALWAYS

Protectionism is pretty disgusting at any time but this example really smells. Efficient producers of shrimp in a poor country (Vietnam) are being subjected to huge legal costs and the threat of tariffs by inefficient American producers who produce only a small fraction of the shrimp sold anyhow. I'll bet you'll not hear a single Leftist sticking up for the poor country on this one. Leftist "caring" and concern for "the poor" is just a lie.

Unemployment: "It is a constant refrain from Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry and his lackeys these days: 'George W. Bush has the worst job creation record of any president since Herbert Hoover.' They also claim that an economy that has seen significant growth in productivity, the stock market, consumer confidence, housing starts, and overall economic strength, is a 'jobless recovery' because the Bush administration is 'shipping our jobs overseas.' Statements like these make for great campaign rhetoric, but they are far from true. In fact, the unemployment rate today is virtually the same as it was when President Bill Clinton ran for re-election in 1996 touting his strong record on the economy."

"Every political campaign seems to have some buzzword, and this year's buzzword is 'outsourcing.' Since the economic recovery has not yet reached the stage when new jobs are being created to the extent expected and hoped, the idea that American jobs are being sent overseas has political mileage, whether or not it has much economic substance."

The "exporting jobs" scam: "Politicians are notoriously economically illiterate. And even when they know what would be the right thing, we don't really expect them to do it. But we do expect financial and economic reporters and 'experts' who appear on television to have some grasp of whatever they're discussing. Thus, when these 'experts' join in the chorus of outrage over greedy corporations exporting jobs, it's easy to believe there must be something to the complaint."

"The lack of employment growth continues to be the major political/economic problem facing the country and it likely will remain that way through Election Day. Contributing to the reluctance to hire permanent employees is the rising cost of employment, especially the cost of benefits ..."

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FROM BROOKES NEWS

The Madrid bombing and the election result is a warning to the US Bush's response to America being attacked was to overthrow the Taliban, bring down the murderous Saddam and take out a good slice of al Qaeda. Spain's response was to hold a mass demonstration against terrorists and then promptly surrender.
US productivity and the jobless mystery The contrast between America's unemployment level and the growth in GDP is causing consternation.
A journalist tries to skewer Bush on incomes and inequality A reporter would have us believe that the widening income gap was caused by President Bush. In fact, the gap grew significantly under Clinton. So what we have is another left-wing attempt to rewrite history.
What determines wages? A businessman cannot pay a worker more than the amount added by the work of the employee to the value of the product i.e. what the customers are prepared to pay for the product.
Why the Clinton boom burst Rather than look to economic history and well-tried theory for guidance, commentators, and some economists too, interpreted the boom as a "new era", one that had "abolished the business cycle".

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