From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Tue Dec 25 2001 - 17:13:00 MST
John Clark wrote:
>
> Mike Lorrey <mlorrey@datamann.com> Wrote:
>
> >While I support free markets, I also support anti-dumping laws. The
> >degree to which the Indian government subsidizes its domestic computer
> >industry indicates that this is a case of labor dumping. Dumping is NOT
> >free trade.
>
> Certainly dumping is free trade. If the Indian government wishes to
> subsidize an industry it's foolish of them, and it harms the Indian
> taxpayer, but it benefits those it sells to. Selling things for less than it costs
> to make is not the key to success and the market will soon inform them of that
> fact, but if somebody is dumb enough to try it for a while who am I to say no.
> Dumping is stupid but I like to take advantage of the stupid, I think of it as
> evolution in action. Of course special interests, such as yourself, could be
> harmed from time to time but most will benefit. At any rate if I want to buy
> software from India that's my business and I don't want to be forced to buy
> it from you.
Fine, and I can retaliate by paying your customers to do business with
other people as well, and require that all packets that pass through my
section of the network must be stopped and inspected, byte by byte,
before they are allowed to be passed on, and any packets that contain
the 'product' of those who compete unfairly with me will be spoofed with
identical packets with randomized data.
What I find so ironic about this sort of discussion is that those
companies who are now advertising the most here in the US for consumers
to 'invest' in America by buying American products after 9-11 are those
who most frequently are exporting jobs to third world countries. There
is nothing wrong with exporting jobs per se, but there is something
ethically wrong with the demonstrated hypocrisy of pleading with
consumers to stay loyal to American corporations at the same time.
This is not exclusive to corporations. Many non-profit agencies are
doing the same, especially those who are involved in servicing the
unemployed. I suppose in a twisted way it is smart to help ensure you
have 'customers' by making sure they are less able to become employed,
in the same way that the anti-nuke movement is against the dismantlement
of the Trident missile submarines now that their missiles have been
removed.
India not only gives free college educations to all Indian citizens
majoring in computer sciences and other high tech fields, it grants tax
breaks to Indian businesses that hire Indians, and they also have
barriers against immigration as well, so another person's suggestion
that I move to India is not a possibility.
And, no, John, dumping is NOT free trade if the government is
subsidizing the market. That is not to say that our own is innocent.
FedEx, for example, is the number one overnight delivery service
specifically because all of its large jets are financed through the
federal government at very low interest rates as part of the Reserve
Transport Service program (i.e. the planes are subject to being called
up in wartime like any reservist.)
Dumping is predatory trade, and is typical of monopolists. I'd like to
see what sort of world would occur if we instituted a Trade Reciprocity
Act, where every trade regulation another country has with respect to
our products is mirrored by us with respect to their products. For
example, the reason cars built by US firms have never gained any market
share in Japan is that the Japanese, for 'quality' reasons, essentially
requires that every US car that is imported be 'inspected', i.e.
entirely dismantled and put back together at the port when it comes off
the boat, with the cost of this passed on to the buyer in the sticker
price.
Furthermore, think about the costs of dumping that are externalized:
foreign company A dumps its products on our market, which drives
domestic company B, C and D into bankruptcy, passing the debts of those
companys onto the US taxpayer. By endorsing dumping, you are not only
increasing your own taxes, you externalize the money you save on cheap
products into everyone else's pockets. That's not very free market OR
libertarian of you.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:12:49 MST