tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965939.post115256786336363119..comments2023-10-25T06:27:02.977-05:00Comments on Ryan the Angry Midget and Friends: Too bad they couldn't get this down to the reading level of My Pet GoatRyan the Angry Midgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120313107611992640noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965939.post-1152725118391848402006-07-12T12:25:00.000-05:002006-07-12T12:25:00.000-05:00Miles plays all kinds of games. Paper Rock Scisso...Miles plays all kinds of games. Paper Rock Scissors is a good one. Oh, and so is 'Hide the Priest's Salami.'Lord Blinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13309529830363457895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965939.post-1152642598818272902006-07-11T13:29:00.000-05:002006-07-11T13:29:00.000-05:00I play games. I don't read.I play games. I don't read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965939.post-1152584761298764152006-07-10T21:26:00.000-05:002006-07-10T21:26:00.000-05:00Two items, more in rebuttal to the book than to Mr...Two items, more in rebuttal to the book than to Mr. Midget.<BR/><BR/>1. While the intertwining of commercial interests CAN have the effect of decreasing wars, it can also have the opposite effect. Case in point: Iraq war version 1.0. We were dragging into that war for two reasons, both related to commercial interests intertwining: (1) the Kuwaities were our commercial partners, thus we had to come to their aid; and (2) American has a huge dependence on Middle Eastern oil, thus we had to ensure a uninterrupted supply. The spice must flow!<BR/><BR/>2. Globalization is not a foregone conclusion. One fairly easy and substantial step American could take: drop out of NAFTA and start levying import dues on all those cars GM and Ford are manufacturing in Mexico. GM and Ford made the choice to move factories to Mexico because it made financial sense: (A) Low to no pesky environmental laws to worry about; and (B) people will work for food. Once you reverse the financial incentive, you reverse the job migration.<BR/><BR/>Now, anytime you start to talk about import dues and fees, people start wailing about the Great Depression and asserting (because their fifth grade teacher said so) that the great global depression was caused by an import tax war. As with every other time a single, simple answer is suggested regarding a global economic issue, that answer is dead wrong.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, there currently exist a plethora (and I do know what a plethora is) of import dues exacted by a cornucopia of countries, including most EU countries and Japan. The focus of many of these import taxes is an attempt to level the playing field between rich and poor countries. Thus, France places import dues on agricultural products imported from countries with low labor rates. If France didn't, all French farms (except vineyards) would be bankrupt in about a year, because the farmers in Chile don't have unions, pensions, or a 35-hour workweek. Why can't we do the same?<BR/><BR/>In truth, globalization benefits only the upper class, and it does so in two ways. First, they're the ones who own the businesses that can outsource jobs to Angola and thereby increase the profits going into their withered, grasping hands. Second, they're the ones who own most of the stock in publicly-traded companys, therefore when these publicly-traded companies outsource jobs to Laos and increase profits, those increased profits are paid as increased dividends to these same vampiric bastards. Now, since I'm the closest thing this Blog has to an upper-class wage earner, perhaps I should just shut up and smile. But, in the words of Charles Kane, if I don't look out for the interests of the common man, who will?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com