Reply #13: The Positive Element You Note Is A Fallacy

[Strelnikov_]

Europe prior to WW I had an interdependent economy and was relatively prosperous, and still went to war with each other. Also, your dream of 'justice and jobs' assumes governments that are responsive to the peoples needs. Look at the US, an established democracy, and the Corporatist takeover of it's elected officials.

The only way to deal with the current situation, which is the destruction of the middle class and therefore our democracy, is the following:

- Implementation of a guest worker program to stop the labor black market in this country, coupled with enforcement of laws regarding hiring of illegal immigrants.

- Implementation of tariffs indexed to the level of environmental/labor/social protections in the exporting country. The people of the US implemented laws addressing these issues, and companies should not be able to bypass these laws by exploiting foreign labor. Also, I am willing to take on Japan/Germany/South Korea on an equal footing, but not Communist China, where most workers are essentially serfs.

- Implementation of universal health insurance, disability, and full employment programs by the Government. This will remove the ‘employee overhead’ that makes most employers in this country reluctant to hire additional employees during upturns. Health insurance, disability and unemployment will now become a function of the union we all belong to, the US. And the union will provide everyone a baseline survival paycheck to anyone reporting for work at a government provided work center.