Free and Fair...

As I was eating my banana this morning, I saw a sticker around the bunch that proclaimed: "FAIR TRADE certified".  It scared me.

I immideatly recalled that a day or two ago, I was sitting around with some educated, enlightened citizens.  I came in on the tail end of a discussion, but it must have been centered around (un)employment and the price of things (inflation).

These men, as I could discern from their final statements, were in favor of high employment and low prices...in the United States.  

The final 'Uh-huh's and 'You got that right's were against corporations sending jobs overseas, and these men had agreed that sending the jobs over there, was part of what has caused our current crisis of high unemployment, low growth, etc. Like I said, these men were educated.  I didn't ask, but I'll bet, that these men were Republicans. 

If you look at it on the surface, we have seen increasing number of companies moving operations, production...jobs...to foreign countries.  And, we have high unemployment. So, they must be tied together? And that is where the thinking usually stops.

Companies should be able to find the cheapest means of production and service.  Companies don't function any other way.  If these men are upset that it is cheaper to have things made overseas, which includes the cost of flying managers and executives back and forth...the cost of shipping supplies and products around the world...paying import duties, etc., then they should favor creating an environment here that would 1) make it worth a company's while to keep the operations here, and 2) make it worth it for the employee who would rather file for unemployment than take that job.

How?  Well that is a legitimate function of government.  In fact, that was one of the primary reasons for the formation of our government.  Maybe the primary reason.  The 2nd Continental Congress met to discuss fix the failure of the Articles of Confederation's lack of facilitating commerse among the different states. 

The role of government is not to protect businesses within its jurisdiction, it is to create an environment in which they can succeed.  On there own.  The Constitution facilitated this...by governing the relationships between the states...free trade.

It works with countries too.  A country's wealth is not determined by how much money it has.  Money is printed - and you can't print your way to prosperity (See Ben Bernake, 21st Century).  A country's wealth is determined by the amount of goods and services it produces.  Free trade increases the amount of goods and services a country can produce.  In the long run, a country will buy only that amount that it can afford.  So if you are worried about a trade imbalance - it is only a problem if it is caused by trade restrictions. 

Is this racist? I mean, not all Canadians are mounted...

[Please - don't confuse Free Trade with NAFLA (the North American Free Lunch Agreement), free trade does NOT mean no borders, no inspections, no customs]

I used to say that I was not a Free Trader, I was a Fair Trader.  This came about because certain countries would remove their trade barriers (taxes, limits, etc.) and trade 'freely' with countries that sought to gain by imposing their own restrictions . . . but as things go, the term 'Fair Trade' has taken on a whole new meaning (by those same people who trade 'Liberal' for 'Progressive', and then switch it again).

You know NOT to trust people who come up with these:

....so I guess I'm a Free Trader, as long as it is Fair.