Budd Cochran wrote:
> No, it's about getting America to get off it's lard butt and take
> back it's industry, but that would mean unions taking wage cuts and
> the EPA being told to shut up and suck on a pine tree.
>
> If you want to buy American, it needs to be OWNED and built here.
>
> Japan and Germany didn't lose WW II, they just waited and bought us
> off.

That's put me off Jaguar, Volvo, Saab, Land Rover, Ford, Vauxhall, and all
the other American owned brands we buy in Europe then. F*** 'um foreign
things. We'll buy European domestic products like Renault, Fiat and Peugeot
instead.

But wait, how does nationalism and protectionism help all those American
Ford and GM brands? Oh it doesn't, it guarantees even bigger losses for
them.
Perhaps Americans only believe in free trade when the going is good for
them? Yes that is probably it.

Fact is, there is only one way to stem those losses at Ford and GM and that
is for them to become more efficient and trade their way out. It can be
done. Just look at the example of Nissan which under French management has
been transformed from imminent bancruptcy to a modern success story in less
than ten years.

There is nothing magical about Japanese or German industry. Just look at the
present debacle at Mitsubishi which Daimler/Chrysler could not turn around.

If you want a global recession where you are absolutely guaranteed to have
fewer sales and total business failures then certainly go protectionist. If
you want continued relitive prosperity and employment then become
competitive and grow your economy.
There is no stopping China and other major competitors becoming more
prosperous because they are coming around to the American way of doing
business. If enough trade is done both ways then both economies win.
Obviously America has more to lose and China has more to win but what you
need is a win/win situation. It is inevitable though that China will become
a stronger economy than the USA in the medium term.


Huw