Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

Showing Original Post only (View all)

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 03:46 AM Dec 2014

Thinking about the TPP. FDR regarding tariffs: [View all]

FDR favored trade but cautioned:

"A tariff is a tax on certain goods passing from the producer to the consumer. It is laid on these goods rather than on other similar ones because they originate abroad. This is obviously protection for the producers of competing of goods at home. Peasants who live at lower levels than our farmers, workers who are sweated to reduce costs, ought not to determine the price of American goods. There are standards which we desire to set for ourselves. Tariffs should be large enough to maintain living standards which we set for ourselves. But if they are higher they become a particularly vicious kind of direct tax which is laid doubly on the consumer. Not only are the prices of foreign goods raised, but those of domestic good also.

pages 145-146, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Looking Forward, first published in 1933

I believe that statement sets the standard by which our trade agreements should be judged. Do the agreements contain provisions that will protect the living standard of Americans, farmers and working people?

Most of our current trade agreements do not.

31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Did it work? Did it work? Anyone?... Recursion Dec 2014 #1
Thanks for that astute assessment, Rush. RiverLover Dec 2014 #4
Here's an actual liberal view(which is of course correct). Maybe you can post something from Fox RiverLover Dec 2014 #7
+1 an entire shit load. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #18
Another fail, Recursion. Scuba Dec 2014 #9
+1 You nailed it. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #19
Let's see... in FDR's first term... MannyGoldstein Dec 2014 #10
FDR was right on. Tariffs should protect the living standards of the American worker. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #2
Thank you. JDPriestly Dec 2014 #12
"In FDR's view high tariffs shifted the burden of financing the government from the rich to the poor pampango Dec 2014 #16
Very little of the TPP has anything to do with what tariffs are still existing. djean111 Dec 2014 #3
Good info. Thanks~nt RiverLover Dec 2014 #5
I certainly hope you did not think that with my post I was suggesting that the TPP is just about JDPriestly Dec 2014 #13
K & R Faryn Balyncd Dec 2014 #6
K&R Scuba Dec 2014 #8
as djean notes up above, TPP is much worse than just tariffs Doctor_J Dec 2014 #11
Dr. Dean talked about the need for tariffs when he was running for president Mosby Dec 2014 #14
Of course, he campaigned against and negotiated away most of the high tariffs he inherited pampango Dec 2014 #15
Unfortunately, as our high trade deficit and declining wages prove, even multilateral trade JDPriestly Dec 2014 #17
But the wealth is safely in the hands of the wealthy elite and multinational corporations where Enthusiast Dec 2014 #20
Indeed I believe FDR knew that the elite have prospered under high tariffs and low. The key pampango Dec 2014 #22
You are entitled to your opinion. I'll side with FDR. pampango Dec 2014 #21
The TPP creates international Corporate Supremacy®. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #23
I've posted many times that the TPP is only good if it has strong labor and environmental standards pampango Dec 2014 #24
Yeah, we heard about those mythical strong labor and environmental standards Enthusiast Dec 2014 #25
We are both skeptical about their inclusion in the TPP. pampango Dec 2014 #27
We do not want another trade deal. Period. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #28
That was pretty quick going from "completely abandon any and all trade deals with nations that do pampango Dec 2014 #29
Problem is the GDP does not reflect median income. JDPriestly Dec 2014 #30
Wages declined from the early 1970's to the mid-1990's then increased. A NAFTA tragedy? pampango Dec 2014 #31
Fantastic quote! Thanks! MannyGoldstein Dec 2014 #26
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Thinking about the TPP. ...