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Trade is good, because comparative advantages give us economic surplus, but we need compensatory tariffs for labor practices, just as for GHG emissions.
by pas 2y ago
Trade is good, because comparative advantages give us economic surplus, but we need compensatory tariffs for labor practices, just as for GHG emissions.
- noobermin 2y agoIn short, yes. I hope the comment didn't come off as too protectionist. I'm not against collaboration or trade in general, but the "savings" companies think they reap from outsourcing to countries with much worse labour practices needs to be remedied somehow. It's a form of externality.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoThen there's the whole principal-agent problem and whatever is the equivalent of that for "corporation" (or team) as an entity vs. "corporation" (or team) as people at its helm. Outsourcing could look good financially, but be disastrous long-term because of quality and reliability issues; some decision makers benefit from the short-term outcomes, but many care about long-term too - but then, corporation as an entity sees "shit but profitable" as a long-term gain, so its own incentives are structurally misaligned with that of humans that make it. Etc.
- pas 2y agoIt did not come off as protectionist (at least for me).