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There are massive profits being made by industry all over the world...while the typical worker struggles to survive. It seems reasonable to me for governments t

There are massive profits being made by industry all over the world...while the typical worker struggles to survive. It seems reasonable to me for governments to intentionally create jobs (protectionism works, the best time for the middle class in the USA was when there were protectionist policies). Taking away the massive profits from industries seems like the right thing to do. What? They'll move away? Great - another opportunity to create more jobs and start an industry while you block their newly imported products.

nine_k 8y ago
The industries move away and carry the customers away with them. Domestic market may be important, but not as huge, and you can't be best at everything. If you lock the domestic market to mostly / only allow local producers, you end up with lower efficiency than the world on average. Living in a socialist country is not as nice as someone living in the US might be imagining. If Soviet Union is not a good example for you, look at Sweden (it largely stopped its 3-decade socialist experiment in early 1990s).
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  Sweden is actually a good example of an economy that's market oriented but still delivers good results for most workers.
- magduf 8y ago
  >The industries move away and carry the customers away with them. Um, this doesn't seem right at all. It really depends on the industry/product, and also on the country. The US is probably the largest single market in the world, so it's pretty hard to not do business there and do well as a company, especially if you already do most of your business there. (Obviously, this doesn't apply to local/regional businesses, such as a supermarket chain in Italy or wherever.) If Toyota was suddenly not allowed to sell in the US, that would be a gigantic blow to their revenues and business. If Ford was in this spot, it would probably be the end of the company. If Trader Joe's couldn't operate in the US any more, that would be the end of them; they can't just pack up and move to China. Amazon can't exactly pack up and move to China and "carry the customers away with them" either; that really makes no sense. No, protectionism generally doesn't work, but only generally. Lots of countries (all of them?) are protective of some portion of their local industry, usually for national strategic interests. You don't want to tie the very survival of your people to some potentially hostile foreign nation, by relying on them for your food supply, for instance.
deleted 8y ago
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nine_k 8y ago

The industries move away and carry the customers away with them. Domestic market may be important, but not as huge, and you can't be best at everything. If you lock the domestic market to mostly / only allow local producers, you end up with lower efficiency than the world on average. Living in a socialist country is not as nice as someone living in the US might be imagining. If Soviet Union is not a good example for you, look at Sweden (it largely stopped its 3-decade socialist experiment in early 1990s).

maxxxxx 8y ago
Sweden is actually a good example of an economy that's market oriented but still delivers good results for most workers.
magduf 8y ago
>The industries move away and carry the customers away with them. Um, this doesn't seem right at all. It really depends on the industry/product, and also on the country. The US is probably the largest single market in the world, so it's pretty hard to not do business there and do well as a company, especially if you already do most of your business there. (Obviously, this doesn't apply to local/regional businesses, such as a supermarket chain in Italy or wherever.) If Toyota was suddenly not allowed to sell in the US, that would be a gigantic blow to their revenues and business. If Ford was in this spot, it would probably be the end of the company. If Trader Joe's couldn't operate in the US any more, that would be the end of them; they can't just pack up and move to China. Amazon can't exactly pack up and move to China and "carry the customers away with them" either; that really makes no sense. No, protectionism generally doesn't work, but only generally. Lots of countries (all of them?) are protective of some portion of their local industry, usually for national strategic interests. You don't want to tie the very survival of your people to some potentially hostile foreign nation, by relying on them for your food supply, for instance.

deleted 8y ago

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