I won't say I always agree with you, but I always learn something and I always find something to consider.
The importance of McMurtry and Dylan is that they saw the problem, even if you disagree with them about to whom to apportion blame or the solutions. Today, you can't even get many to see the problem. They'd rather distract. And the reason they'd rather distract is that the solutions are complicated and multifaceted and require sacrifice of a group of people who has never been asked to sacrifice.
Your example about tariffs is telling. Yes, part of what led to shipping jobs overseas was unionization. I will admit that. But I find it telling that rather than asking the federal government for help in the form of tariffs to protect American workers *and companies* from having to compete in a global market, the companies skedaddled overseas and left large swathes of unemployed back here. Why? Honestly, I suspect they could never make the money they're making overseas by producing here even with tariffs to protect their products against being undercut. Hence the reason they never even considered the option.
"Comes up pregnant." I snorted. I grow every more weary of this whole "it happened to me" rather than "I did X to make it happen" culture. I constantly want to scream, "You are not helpless. Have a little freaking agency and pride, will you?" But what do I know?
"Honestly, I suspect they could never make the money they're making overseas by producing here even with tariffs to protect their products against being undercut. Hence the reason they never even considered the option.
They couldn't - not when their competitors' labour costs were ~95% lower using slaves.
Reagan's, HW's, and W's trade advisors were played for chumps by the rest of the world - every other nation had tafiffs in place to protect their own domestic economies - the US was committed to free trade while the other nations paid lip-service and exploited the US market while keeping imports out.
"...part of what led to shipping jobs overseas was unionization."
It wasn't even the biggest part - it was the $ they stood to make sending production to KL, Thailand.
If there were smaller, independent mills, there was no chance they were going to be able to stay in business, because they were ones who would have most benefited from the imposition of the tariffs that would never materialize.
I won't say I always agree with you, but I always learn something and I always find something to consider.
The importance of McMurtry and Dylan is that they saw the problem, even if you disagree with them about to whom to apportion blame or the solutions. Today, you can't even get many to see the problem. They'd rather distract. And the reason they'd rather distract is that the solutions are complicated and multifaceted and require sacrifice of a group of people who has never been asked to sacrifice.
Your example about tariffs is telling. Yes, part of what led to shipping jobs overseas was unionization. I will admit that. But I find it telling that rather than asking the federal government for help in the form of tariffs to protect American workers *and companies* from having to compete in a global market, the companies skedaddled overseas and left large swathes of unemployed back here. Why? Honestly, I suspect they could never make the money they're making overseas by producing here even with tariffs to protect their products against being undercut. Hence the reason they never even considered the option.
"Comes up pregnant." I snorted. I grow every more weary of this whole "it happened to me" rather than "I did X to make it happen" culture. I constantly want to scream, "You are not helpless. Have a little freaking agency and pride, will you?" But what do I know?
Excellent piece, Mr. NotFromTexas.
"Honestly, I suspect they could never make the money they're making overseas by producing here even with tariffs to protect their products against being undercut. Hence the reason they never even considered the option.
They couldn't - not when their competitors' labour costs were ~95% lower using slaves.
Reagan's, HW's, and W's trade advisors were played for chumps by the rest of the world - every other nation had tafiffs in place to protect their own domestic economies - the US was committed to free trade while the other nations paid lip-service and exploited the US market while keeping imports out.
You know a lot!
"...part of what led to shipping jobs overseas was unionization."
It wasn't even the biggest part - it was the $ they stood to make sending production to KL, Thailand.
If there were smaller, independent mills, there was no chance they were going to be able to stay in business, because they were ones who would have most benefited from the imposition of the tariffs that would never materialize.
Hi! Sorry I'm late. I ran out of gas. I got a flat tire. I didn't have change for a cab. A thousand pardons...
But I'll pounce, as is my style. And you had to know I wouldn't even be able to get past the first pic without this:
"Is it any louder?"
"Well, it's one louder, isn't it? ... These go to 11."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO5S4vxi0o
And I just made a recent disparaging Pete Seeger comment but also with _Arlo_ Guthrie, I think.
*blinks* Technicolor... Seeger...
Feels a little bit, I don't know, Vin-Dit-ish today. *stared deep into the belly of the Universe; dag, it's cold out there*
https://vonnegut.fandom.com/wiki/Vin-Dit