Tom Lehman
Doug Henwood wrote:
> Max Sawicky wrote:
>
> >But if you see well-being springing from lower prices,
> >then you ought to oppose all manner of industrial
> >action, trade unionism, public spending, etc., and
> >join the G.O.P.
> >
> >Why stop at cross-border transactions? Occupational
> >health & safety? Screw it. Reduce prices.
>
> >They key social relation is that of the worker,
> >not the consumer or taxpayer. The fundamental
> >cause is labor income and the social wage, NOT
> >the price level or "efficiency." "Internationalism"
> >as purveyed by certain nameless marxists is just
> >another way of saying free trade isn't as good
> >as revolution, but it's better than everything
> >else.
> >
> >Gawd I'm so radical.
>
> Max, descend from that high horse for just a moment. Breaking unions
> almost always means wage cutting. Lifting environmental and worker
> safety regulations is almost always worker-hurting. Not all trade is
> job-destroying or wage-cutting. EPI & Mark Weisbrot write and talk as
> if it is. Some trade can be welfare-enhancing for all involved, even.
> If you're going to analyze the issue completely you've got to
> acknowledge that, and not take the lazy step of running the trade
> deficit through some difference engine and coming up with a job-loss
> number. Or the lazy step of translating any positive statement about
> trade into an lust for seeing workers mangled.
>
> Doug