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1. 

   scottfreitas said, 2 months ago

   “Free Trade” as used in America today is pure Orwellian terminology worthy of “Animal Farm.”

   It’s not free trade. It’s American greedheads in both business and government sending all our good middle-class jobs overseas, to countries which DO NOT buy goods from America other than in tiny, token amounts. It’s people in India, china, etc being exploited, enslaved, abused, working in primitive, unsafe, high-polluting factories which could not even be BUILT in the western world, they’re so damnably horrible.

   Free trade is a lie. Nothing but. It’s the Pigs from Animal Farm laughing at all us horses, who keep saying “We just need to work a little harder!” before they ship us off to the glue factory…

2. 

   BOB HASTY said, 2 months ago

   At last!!!
   Someone, who has a brain, has written a comment.
   Thank you!! scottfreitas!!!!!!!!

3. 

   CogentModality said, 2 months ago

   I take exception to that remark, Bob but I do agree with the first comment.

4. 

   GNWachs said, 2 months ago

   Let see if I understand the horrible consequences of free trade. 305 million Americans are able to purchase hundreds of thousands of goods at markedly decreased prices. The standard of living of all Americans rises dramatically.

   The basic economy of our country shifts from polluting manufacturing to non polluting service. So our air becomes cleaner and our cities less polluted. We finance research and capitalize our technological breakthroughs. Think Microsoft, Apple, Intel.

   We have seen the Americanization of the world. Movies, music, TV, iPods etc. Until yesterday (metaphorically) we had amongst the lowest unemployment rates of any major country in the world. Germany, France was 9-11% and we were 4.5%. We so positively panicked the entire radical Muslim world at the thought that our success would change their youth they launched a jihad.

   We hopefully shocked our youth in the absolutely basic belief that they must get an education. The jobs that were “lost” were low paying, dead-end and not particularly productive. Our high tech attracted the best and the brightest in the entire world. Go to any university campus and see the majority of students are Asian. We caused the brain drain all to our benefit.

5. 

   ducher said, 2 months ago

   @GNWACHS…..so, you are saying we are better off by taking advantage of those less fortunate. Wow…..doesn’t that ring of American values and ideals. No wonder the rest of the world dislikes our policies.

6. 

   GNWachs said, 2 months ago

   ducher

   If your choices are only 2

   a) no work and starvation

   B) minimum wage and enough to buy food and shelter it seems the latter is by far the better choice.

   You are really being so kind to these 3rd world country people. Keep the jobs in the US and you may starve to death, get disease and suffer but ducher feels so noble. He didn’t take advantage.

   Your thinking is equivalent to saying US minimum wage is $7.50 (?) an hour. Not enough to live comfortably so raise it to $20/hour. No jobs at that rate but I am so proud I spoke up for the poor.

   How about asking the 3rd world workers to choose one of the above. I get sick and tired of American liberals telling the rest of the world they know what is good for them. Let them choose.

7. 

   HOWGOZIT said, 2 months ago

   DOUCHER–DISLIKE AND JEALOUSY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

8. 

   believecommonsense said, 2 months ago

   Any nation that discards its manufacturing base in favor of “service” industries is susceptible to what happened to the US in 2007/2008. Meltdown.

   Our nation must maintain a manufacturing base for our own stability and for the future.

9. 

   scottfreitas said, 2 months ago

   Commonsense is right (i thus wonder if someone else is using his name atm). We do not have the industrial base now to do what needed to be done at the start of World War 2. Nor do we have the manufacturing base needed to both maintain and grow a solid middle-class among private sector workers. Government now employs far more people than does manufacturing…

   China makes no secret of its ambitions to one day militarily conquer the US. And the US is allowing China to possess both the manufacturing base AND financial power needed to steadily work towards achieving their goals…

10. 

    NoFearPup said, 2 months ago

    He’s screwed either way; those tires are made in China.

11. 

    4uk4ata said, 2 months ago

    Not quite. It is an abstraction; in the real world there are always factors limiting the availability of money, goods, services or information, which the basic free market idea presupposes are present. Just like there was no perfect communism, there was and is no perfect free market.

12. 

    Corosive Frog said, 2 months ago

    In a nutshell, we can buy more things with our cash, but we have less and less cash.

13. 

    oldlegodad said, 2 months ago

    Wal-Mart has broken ground in Onley VA. Hallelujah !! good by to Fresh Pride, Roses and maybe Food Lion. Hope they can get jobs at W-M. I don’t NEED the money, but I think I’ll try for greeter, I’m old and fat enough. But I have this attitude problem.

14. 

    GNWachs said, 2 months ago

    I have a wonderful solution for the problems facing Fresh Pride, Roses, and Food Lion. Compete. Cut your prices and give better service. Those solutions are on page 1 of Marketing 101. If they do those better than Wal-Mart they in turn will have to improve.

15. 

    oldlegodad said, 2 months ago

    GNW, too bad they are teetering on the edge now. one little W-M push and POOF

16. 

    parkersinthehouse said, 2 months ago

    gnwack what freakin planet are you livin on? cut prices? walmart will cut lower. better service? sure hire more people and pay them with what profit? marketing 101 is a freakin textbook from the 80s - walmart is out to murder food lion and trader horn and all the rest, and (although sam’s supposed to be a christian) they are big enough and ruthless enough to cut them off

17. 

    GNWachs said, 2 months ago

    And the poor public gets stuck with lower prices, large selection and convenient locations. A disaster. If you can’t compete then you go out of business. Costco, Whole Foods, Target etc seem to be doing well.

    I live in NYC and there are no Wal-Marts here. A gallon of milk at the store across the street is $4.29. I rented a car Thursday and did my monthly shopping. Milk was $1.99 There are many many many poor people in NYC, wouldn’t it be nice if they were able to buy milk at that price? I can afford a rent a car, they can’t.

    So Parker you are saying the poor of NYC must pay double so the inefficient large corporations can make a huge profit. Some nice guy you are.