Sunday, March 09, 2008

The Odd Couple

For those who missed the Loud Dobbs-Jack Layton love-in last week, here it is. The two have been brought together by their belief that NAFTA has led to manufacturing jobs going to China.

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posted by calgarygrit at 9:44 p.m.

10 Comments:

  • That was beyond stupid. What on earth does NAFTA have to do with the offshoring of jobs to China? Nothing, that's what! Every time I think I may have some respect for Layton he goes and makes a complete jackass out of himself. I note he was very weasely in broadening the scope of the discussion to trade agreements in general. To the best of my knowledge the only "agreement" we have with China is that they qualify for "Most Favoured Nations" (MFN) tariff status — along with just about every other country on the face of the earth. Gawd, what an idiot.

    By Blogger Red Tory, at 11:38 p.m.  

  • At the risk of responding to a glib quip with the earnestly obvious, I'll note:

    - Layton never claimed NAFTA has led to manufacturing jobs going to China.

    - He wouldn't be entirely wrong if he did. Trade deals like NAFTA prevent Canada from developing national economic policies - that means we lose jobs not just to the US and Mexico but to the entire world. That was the reason why the Liberals campaigned against Free Trade in 1988 and against NAFTA in 1993. Of course, it was subsequently revealed that they were lying through their teeth - but, at the time, a lot of Canadians were moved by the argument.

    - For the record, when Jean Chretien was lying during the 1993 campaign he had the support of Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan. Liberals didn't complain then about the strange bedfellows.

    - And since we're talking about who is on who's side: it's worth noting that on this issue Layton is onside with Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. And Stephane Dion's onside with Stephen Harper and John McCain.

    By Blogger Rudy, at 1:40 a.m.  

  • Well said Rudy. It is really unfortunate that the Liberals are staying on the far right of this issue when being pro-fair trade is becoming more mainstream and acceptable to the centre-left. There's a lot of progressive momentum from the south Dion could be surfing right now, but I think he's being dragged down by the old corporate wing of the Liberal Party.

    Oh well...they hated Trudeau, too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:14 a.m.  

  • Strange bedfellows! A major political party in Canada!

    Yes, Layton does attack China. “…jobs sent off to foreign lands… 1/100 of the wages…”. Though Lou Dobbs is more interested in Mexico.

    Let me offer this comment on trade economics.

    1) Globalization is based on the economic principle of comparative advantage. Nothing wrong with the principle. It creates tremendous supply chain efficiencies.
    2) In the real world, you don’t get ideal results because
    (a) Countries like America don’t have fiscal discipline. Their standard of living is too high.
    (b) Countries like China don’t have a freely floating currency. Currency exchange rates are wrong.
    3) Some countries like Japan and China are very successful. Many countries in Africa are not. Hence, there is growing resistance to global liberalization.
    4) In high-income countries, imports from low wage countries do have a negative impact on low skill working families. There is a strong case for higher minimum wages and a social safety net
    5) Some companies do outsource operations to low wage countries without regard for future competitiveness.
    6) Some companies do import defective products because it is cheaper to blame the manufacturer than to meet safety standards.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 3:20 a.m.  

  • Yeah, I enjoyed the "major Canadian political party" introduction...

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 9:30 a.m.  

  • any group to elect a MP is "major".

    Greens, commies, rhinos, weed parties need not apply.

    OTOH, the "majors" get get to suck on the public teat @ $1.75/vote.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 3:03 p.m.  

  • "And Stephane Dion's onside with Stephen Harper and John McCain."

    And President George W Bush. We should not forget to mention that Stephane Dion agrees with President Bush. Cheney, too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:04 p.m.  

  • Yeah, I enjoyed the "major Canadian political party" introduction...

    Yes, that would be the party that has only one fewer seat than the Liberals west of Ontario, and two more in BC in particular.

    By Blogger JG, at 10:38 p.m.  

  • "Yes, that would be the party that has only one fewer seat than the Liberals west of Ontario, and two more in BC in particular."

    So how many seats do they have in Ontario and Quebec?

    In 1980 Trudeau won a majority without a single seat west of Manitoba.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 2:15 a.m.  

  • Rudy said: "Trade deals like NAFTA prevent Canada from developing national economic policies"

    EXACTLY! This is why I love NAFTA, it protects us from idiotic NDP plans to ruin our economy.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:12 a.m.  

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