America used to have a policy of protecting our wages against unfair competition from low-wage countries. We placed a tariff on imported goods made by workers who were paid substandard wages. We protected our national interest.

The idea was to encourage the companies that made those goods to pay better wages. This way their countries' economies would improve and their workers would be able to buy the things that we make. Thus, the policy of protectionism was a way to improve living standards for workers everywhere, growing our own economy and improving our standard of living in the process.

The money collected from the tariffs was used for our common good: for example, it was spent on improving our country's infrastructure and education system (including science, research and development) so we could retain and improve our competitive position, as well as retraining workers whose industries were affected by changes in trade patterns.

Protectionism was generally our country's policy until a few decades ago. That was back when our country was OUR country -- for We, the People -- and our economy was OUR economy. And it worked. Our living standard continually improved. Then we changed to a "free trade" policy, meaning our workers work pretty much for "free" and big corporations are "free" to do anything they want. Additionally, without the revenue from tariffs, we have to tax our manufacturers more heavily, which makes them even less competitive internationally.

Since then average wages have stagnated and our pensions and health insurance have been disappearing, as have our savings. The country's trade debt has been increasing alarmingly. And corporate control over all of us has become near-total. Corporations are able to get their way by intimidating employees with the fear of losing our jobs to outsourcing, and intimidate governments by threatening to move to lower wage countries.

So it is time to bring back protectionism. It worked.
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About author
Dave Johnson is the lead blogger at Seeing the Forest, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Newnewal of the California Dream (and their Speak Out California site) and a Fellow at the Commonweal Institute, where he studies the conservative movement’s network of foundations and think tanks and the extent of their influence on American society.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/12917

Join a Union...! You'll get some protection...!

Madison, I'm way too tired to offer anything intellectual to this discussio...but talk to the free trade wackos on this one. Everyone is so worried about the poor countries, but then turns around and b*tches about our economy being in the toilet.

^ That opinion is neither informed nor researched. So sue me.

Iam in a Union we hav been lucky so far at my plant but all you have to do is turn on the news and read about the latest plants being closed and outsourced to slave labor countries

unfortunately, with impending return of the "cold war" with russia (they've been in the midst of a tremendous military buildup for the last eight years), we might not get a choice.

the problem here is that our "government" has been too busy whoring itself out to big business for decades now, coming to a crescendo with Reagan's Reaganomics and Bill Clinton's signing of NAFTA (which even corporate-based ragsheets like the Wall Street Journal has called a "monumental failure"). even worse is that there are elements of the U.S. government (like CFIUS, the committee for foreign investments in the united states) that have made it their to duty to force-feed "globalization" down our throats for the benefit for the privileged few.

things aren't likely to change either, come the next presidential elections- it's well-known that hillary clinton's past as a corporate shill and thief will only continue this trend of "everything for corporate interest", while barack obama has sought to take away our sovereignty by bonding even closer to the UN.

It is pathetic what Nafta has done to our country and its industrial base yet no one is speaking against it that is a front runner. It is a bi-partisan screwing of america. we are well on our way to becomeing the worlds largest bannana republic..(no offence to any bannana republics)

Yes NAFTA(Bill Clinton) did sell us down the toilet, and needs to be removed, yes, we need to use those tariffs to protect our Country. And yes we are becoming a 3rd world country, and a bananna dictatorship too.

If the welfare checks were gone tomorrow (could it happen), exactly what would be the difference between this country and the 3 rd world countries.?

We all need to think about nice little gardens,etc. It is going to matter soon.

All I can say is: Follow the money.