Blogs For Victory

Kevin Williamson notes Romney’s talk about China and trade and has this to say:

…Mr. Romney, in Ohio, did the usual song-and-dance number about China’s currency manipulation, tariffs, etc. Mr. Romney might want to reflect that he’s running for president of the United States of America, which is at the moment involved in one of history’s remarkable episodes of currency manipulation. Perhaps Mr. Romney could give Ben Bernanke a call and have him run through the details.

Much more sensible than Romney’s speech in Ohio is his short video on the same subject, which features a gentleman named Steve Cohen, who runs a manufacturing business, Screen Machine Industries. Mr. Cohen doesn’t much talk about currency manipulation or tariffs. Instead, he talks mostly about the real, legitimate, actionable beef that American firms have with the Chi-Comms: their rampant, degenerate thievery. China is a nation of pickpockets, a crime-wave with a flag. The hijacking of foreign intellectual property by Chinese thieves, including those running businesses connected to the government, ought to be front-and-center in our trade discussions…

Which is all very true, but doesn’t get at the heart of it – our trade negotiations with China should actually revolve around how we de-couple our economy from theirs.  China is ruled by a corrupt, cruel oligarchy which doesn’t actually care about the Chinese people – and they care even less about us, save in how much then can steal.  While China’s economy is talked up as the new paradigm, it is actually riddled with bad debt and doomed to a spectacular crash – something which will make the end of Japan, Inc. in the late 1980’s look like a walk in the park.  Having our economy tied to China’s means we’re at the economic mercy of people who are robbing their own people blind while conniving at the theft of American wealth by Chinese firms given the go-ahead by the government of China.

The bottom line is even if you hold that we have to import our manufactured goods from low wage nations (an absurd statement, but those who want to ship our jobs overseas never tire of making it), we can do better by ourselves if we imported from nations more friendly to us – India, for instance.  There is no good in the China trade – just an erosion of our wealth, the strengthening of an anti-human dictatorship and world of hurt when the crash comes (which might come with war as the Chinese oligarchs cast about for a means to distract their own people).  Over a period of a few years (no more than five) we should progressively increase tariffs on Chinese goods until they are entirely priced out of the American market.  Meanwhile, we should do all in our power to discharge our debt to China and prohibit, after a date certain, the redemption of American bonds held by Chinese citizens, corporate entities or government bodies (so even if they buy them from third parties, they’ll never get another dime from us).   No more trade with China – not until they institute free, fair elections and develope a government of reliable laws.

It is time we woke up to the realities of the world – and one of the main realities is that the United States cannot afford to have dealings with tyrannical regimes.  Free people should seek to do business with their like – not with the pirate masters of slave labor.