Fair trade? Free trade? Buy American?
February 12, 2010
- Some of my friends “buy American” (Group A).
- Some buy “fair-trade” coffee (Group B).
- Some do both (Group AB).
- And then there are those selfish guys who buy free trade (Group 0).
He follows with some questions:
- Group A: We have heard arguments that free trade promotes the health of our national economy. I assume that your choice is a result of patriotic feelings and/or self-interest (preserving your own job). Shouldn’t you also buy only American coffee? We have millions of unemployed people—perhaps we should subsidize them to grow it for us even if it costs $10 per cup? How exactly does your behavior promote your goals?
- Group B: We have witnessed many distinguished economists’ efforts trying to convince us that free trade is a necessary condition for lifting people in the underdeveloped nations out of misery. I assume that your choice is a result of your desire to help the poor farmers in Third World countries. Do you also buy only fair-trade bananas? Clothes? Shoes? Laptops? Do you only fly on planes made by fair-trade parts? Do you think that this is the most efficient (it’s about Christ’s exhortation to us to be good stewards) way to spend your money to achieve your goals?
- Group AB: “The rarest of all human qualities is consistency,” wrote Jeremy Bentham. How do you reconcile in your mind doing both at the same time?
- Group 0: How can you sleep at night? Don’t your choices promote “exploitation?”
Environmentalism, the Christian way
July 2, 2009
I get a weekly bulletin from the WeGetIt campaign. It is well worth your read, to help us all develop a Christian and therefore responsible approach to the insane environmentalist wackos out there, and in the US Congress. Keep reading… Read the rest of this entry »
In Praise of Capitalist Exploitation
March 28, 2009
Now here’s something you won’t read or hear often these days. Want to help lift the poor out of poverty? Try “Capitalist Exploitation.”
Those who condemn sweatshops categorically for being “harsh” should specify “harsh relative to what?” Harsh by our standards, indeed, but often an improvement over work standards prevalent in those countries and far less harsh than Read the rest of this entry »
Greed and virtue
March 26, 2009
Milton Friedman (1912-2006) was an American economist of major repute. Among other things he wrote Capitalism and Freedom in 1962. He was in a word, brilliant.
Phil Donahue is still around and is best known as the pioneer in what some call tabloid television with his very successful Phil Donahue Show which ran from 1970-1996. Donahue is in a word, liberal.
In the video below, Friedman appears on the Donahue show, apparently sometime in the 1970s. Donahue asks the brilliant economist if he ever doubts capitalism given the “maldistribution of wealth” around the world, the “desperate plight of millions of people” and the fact of so few “haves” and so many “have nots.” The obvious implication is that greed (read capitalism) is responsible for the poor Read the rest of this entry »
America!
February 19, 2009
President Obama’s so-called stimulus package contains provisions calling on us to “Buy American.” What does that mean? Well I think we all know what it means. It means buy products made in the United States of America. That is all fine and good, when said product is good and less expensive than a product made elsewhere. Otherwise, buy the best product at the best price wherever it is manufactured.
But it got me thinking about the term American. Does he mean the USA? or Canada? or Mexico? or Central America? Does he mean Read the rest of this entry »
Big, bad Walmart? Not so says Charles
February 10, 2009
Charles Platt got himself hired by Walmart to check out the so-called “evil retail empire.”
…the company is rebuked and reviled by anyone claiming a social conscience, and is lambasted by legislators as if its bad behavior places it somewhere between investment bankers and the Taliban.
Here is his conclusion:
Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It’s the best friend we could ask for.
Check out his article. Fascinating to say the least. For those of you who have bought the media lie that Walmart is bad for employees, consumers and just about everyone else…well go back and read your Economics 101 book!
HT: Challies
Gas Prices
November 18, 2008
I filled up the Pathfinder today here in the St. Louis, Missouri area. I must confess that I never thought I would see $1.699 per gallon again. Heck I never thought I would see gas under $3.00 per gallon.
Just curious. What are gas prices where you live in the US or in the world, for that matter? It would be interesting to see comments from all over. I know we have quite a few overseas readers. What is the cost of gas where you are?
Illegal immigrants and illegal mortgages
October 9, 2008
This just in:
A single report by KFYI radio of Phoenix, Arizona highlights a shocking claim made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD says that five million illegal aliens hold illegal mortgages. This is just one more example Read the rest of this entry »
