Election Central Morning Roundup TPMCafe:
"Democratic presidential candidates expressed strong dissatisfaction with
China's policies on a variety of issues Wednesday while speaking at the Iowa
Federation of Labor. Chris Dodd, who has called China 'an adversary' because
they take American manufacturing jobs, called for a suspension of imported toys
and food due to health safety concerns. Both Chris Dodd and John Edwards accused
China of currency manipulation, while Bill Richardson and Joe Biden advocate
raising tariffs on Chinese imports as a penalty for what they consider unfair
trading practices. Attacking China on trade plays well with labor groups, many
of whom view the country as a negative economic force that lowers wages and
labor standards while taking jobs previously held by Americans."
It is easy to attack China as the source of Americas problems. It isn't as easy to talk to Americans about their drive to run up thier credit cards with useless crap purchased at Wal-Mart and made in China. China doesn't force anyone to purchase its goods, it operates in the free market system and uses its advantages, to sell to companies looking for the best price for labor. Fact is that as much as some would like to either not accept this fact, or to change this fact, China and the United States are bound together in terms of the global market place. If we stopped buying their goods, they would lose a market that would bring loses to their economy. If they stopped selling us goods, our economy would suffer immediate inflation.
It isn't just Chinesse companies that would suffer from a down turn in the Chinesse economy. Some of the largest American companies have investments in China and would lose money in a downturn in the market in China.
There are good ways to come back, to address the problems that the American economy is having. One of them is not to place the blame on China. A good example of how we could change, and continue to remain strong can be seen in Europe.
