trikk311 All American 2793 Posts user info edit post |
salis....you clown...how about you read some posts?? his question is...
Quote : | "Do you have any thoughts on the I-69 situation in addition to the links?" |
6/21/2006 4:23:28 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
He has two articles by the same woman who is writing about pure conjecture and he is posting it here as if it is indisputable proof. 6/21/2006 4:27:43 PM |
ScubaSteve All American 5523 Posts user info edit post |
No Jews?
i think salisbury is losing his touch, running out of jew conspiracies to rant on, or a mod told him he will get perma ban if he talks about jews more..because it's a conspiracy. 6/21/2006 4:32:09 PM |
quiet guy Suspended 3020 Posts user info edit post |
I-69 = Steinway 6/21/2006 4:39:48 PM |
30thAnnZ Suspended 31803 Posts user info edit post |
it's obviously the heeb-highway 6/21/2006 4:40:30 PM |
GrumpyGOP yovo yovo bonsoir 18191 Posts user info edit post |
Dear God, he's right. First they built the Chunnel, then the EU consolidated, and shortly thereafter Europe collapsed into chaos and poverty. This road link is just the first step towards suffering from the same atrocities that befell EU, such as a stronger currency and greater international cooperation.
[Edited on June 21, 2006 at 7:17 PM. Reason : The economic integration...it's almost too terrible to watch] 6/21/2006 7:16:36 PM |
30thAnnZ Suspended 31803 Posts user info edit post |
yeah god forbid hot brown people and cold milky white people might have a link between them! 6/21/2006 8:16:41 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Do you have any thoughts on the I-69 situation" |
Yes. I oppose it. This proposed highway will further erode our borders and the idea of U.S. national sovereignty, as it will allow vehicles and people to flow into the United States with reduced oversight as to whether people are entering the country illegally. It is a move towards an even more blatant open border policy.
And the I-69 project is far from being the only example of this movement towards a North American Union. It's just one piece of evidence among many...including NAFTA, open borders policies, etc.6/22/2006 12:51:20 PM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148450 Posts user info edit post |
salisburyboy, are you for putting up a fence on the US-Mexico border? seems like that would help sovereignty 6/22/2006 12:53:25 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
A fence couldn't hurt, but a fence isn't even necessary in regards to illegal aliens from Latin America who come here for work. That problem could be solved very easily by simply enacting (and enforcing) laws which would prevent illegals from working and living in the United States (eg, seriously crack down on employers who hire illegals, prevent illegals from getting driver's licenses, fine people living here illegally, etc.). If illegals saw that the U.S. was serious about stopping illegal immigration and they couldn't get a job here, they would have to leave the U.S. and return to wherever they came from. No need for mass roundups or anythin like that. 6/22/2006 12:58:31 PM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148450 Posts user info edit post |
^you've got a point on ways to crack down...but i think its not a problem that could be solved "easily" like you suggest
i mean whats gonna stop an illegal immigrant from driving a car without a license? and regardless of the potential consequences of getting caught hiring an illegal, if its financially good for the boss, some people are still gonna hire illegals
course a fence system wouldnt be perfect either but hey, gotta do something 6/22/2006 1:03:18 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "you've got a point on ways to crack down...but i think its not a problem that could be solved "easily" like you suggest" |
It's not as if countries cannot enact policies to control or stop illegal immigration. It's very easy to do so. The simple fact is that the U.S. Government is not serious about stopping illegal immigration. The government is, in fact, aiding and encouraging illegal immigration, as evidenced by it's total lack of will to do anything to counter it. That's what has allowed the problem to get as bad as it is and worsen over time.
Foreigners now know that there is, in effect, no resistance to coming into the U.S. illegally. So that is an incentive for millions upon millions to try to come here. If the government would have enforced our laws against illegal immigration years ago (when the problem was very small), it would have nipped it in the bud, and people would not be attempting to enter the U.S. illegally on such a massive scale as exists today. But the illegal immigration problem can still be easily solved now, by simply making it very difficult for illegals to be here and start enforcing our laws. The illegals will have to leave if they can't find work.
Quote : | "i mean whats gonna stop an illegal immigrant from driving a car without a license?" |
You can't do much to stop U.S. citizens from driving without a license. The important point is not to hand out driver's licenses to illegal aliens. And, more importantly, we should enforce our laws against illegal immigration and enact policies that make it difficult to impossible for illegals to live and work in the U.S. Then there won't be many illegals here in the U.S. to drive on the roads illegally in the first place.
Quote : | "and regardless of the potential consequences of getting caught hiring an illegal, if its financially good for the boss, some people are still gonna hire illegals" |
They won't try it if there are stiff penalties and fines for doing so, and those laws are actually enforced.
It's all a matter of will. Our government can choose to enforce virtually any law if it so wishes (eg, people paying their property taxes, etc.). If they really wanted to stop illegal immigration, it would be quite easy. But the bottom line is that our government (especially on the federal level) has been hijacked by foreign/special interests who want an open border policy, which aids in weakening America and advancing global government.
[Edited on June 22, 2006 at 1:26 PM. Reason : ```]6/22/2006 1:22:23 PM |
McDanger All American 18835 Posts user info edit post |
6/22/2006 1:50:30 PM |
Schuchula Veteran 138 Posts user info edit post |
Global Government, FTW. North America, as we all know, is the only continent in the world. 6/22/2006 4:30:55 PM |
McDanger All American 18835 Posts user info edit post |
6/22/2006 7:30:55 PM |
chembob Yankee Cowboy 27011 Posts user info edit post |
Hey salisburyboy, Interstate 5 already goes from Mexico to Canada. 6/22/2006 11:01:40 PM |
DROD900 All American 24658 Posts user info edit post |
VIVA LA REVOLUCION! 6/23/2006 10:35:38 AM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
More on the new superhighway...
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50451
Quote : | "Southern border blurs for global trade
June 1, 2006 © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
The Texas segment of the NAFTA Super Corridor is moving rapidly toward approval. When built, the Trans-Texas Corridor, or TTC, will be a major super-highway with six lanes moving in each direction, twelve lanes across in total...
[...]
The U.S. Department of Transportation is actively working on a Free and Secure Trade program that would create special lanes to allow trucks from Mexico to cross the U.S. border with minimal electronic inspection, reducing the U.S. border with Mexico to no more than a speed-bump for authorized Mexican trucks entering the country.
[...]
I continue to argue that a "follow the money" strategy must be utilized to understand why President Bush has refused to close our border with Mexico, pushing instead for "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation that would allow the vast majority of illegal immigrants now in the U.S. to remain under a "guest worker" or "pathway to citizenship" provision. The underlying agenda of the Bush administration seems to be to create a NAFTA-plus environment in which workers, trade and capital will be allowed to flow unimpeded within the trilateral North American community consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico." |
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ```````]6/23/2006 11:41:41 AM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
So are you afraid that those authorized trucks are actually going to be full of mexicans?
Please outline why something is bad instead of simply bolding a random sentence. 6/23/2006 11:43:53 AM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Good, comprehensive article on the CFR plan for a "North American Community" from way back in July 2005...
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/spingola/050715
Quote : | "Building a North American community, the selling of America
Deanna Spingola July 15, 2005
While our sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers having been spilling their blood in the sands of Iraq under the guise of restoring the country to the Iraqi citizens, our president is in the process of giving our country to the elite One World Order insiders. While our president is requiring protected borders in Iraq, he is obliterating, not only our southern, but our northern borders.
[...]
The CFR proposes to implement an even more "ambitious" plan for the "new community" than the covert pact agreed on by the "three amigos." Their target date is 2010. Their recommendations include:
Co-chair Pedro C. Aspe, former Finance Minister of Mexico, said, "We need a vision for North America to address the new challenges." This vision actually refers to the nightmare of the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas). What NAFTA didn't do to destroy the America middle class the FTAA will surely complete. Bush has been avidly promoting CAFTA, the stepping stone to FTAA. It is completely in the worst possible interests of the American people. It will be devastating to the American economy" |
6/23/2006 11:59:17 AM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
So are you afraid that those authorized trucks are actually going to be full of mexicans? 6/23/2006 12:04:43 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
CFR Task Force recommendations from their report "Building a North American Community"...
http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/NorthAmerica_TF_final.pdf
1. "Establish a common security perimeter by 2010" (see page 30 of 70 on PDF file)
2. "Develop a North American Border Pass with biometric identifiers" (to expedite passage between the countries) (page 30)
3. "Lay the groundwork for the freer flow of people within North America" (page 32)
4. "Creating a North American economic space" (page 40) -- Remember the European Economic Community (later changed to European Community), which was the forerunner of the European Union?
5. "Establish a Seamless North American Market for Trade" (including eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers) (page 42)
6. "Adopt a common external tariff" (page 43)
7. "Integrating protection of food, health, and environment" (page 47)
8. "Increase Labor Mobility Within North America" (page 48)
9. "Support a North American Education Program" (page 50)
10. "A North American Advisory Council" (page 53)
11. "A North American Inter-Parliamentary Group" (page 54)
By incrementalization, they are moving things towards creating (in effect) a new single country/nation--by erasing borders, forming North American "councils" and "inter-Parliamentary groups" (precursors of full-fledged regional government), and overall integrating the societies. It's similar to how Europe was moved towards the European Union. They are using the same process here with North America.
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 12:25 PM. Reason : ```] 6/23/2006 12:20:51 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
And Europe has gone straight to shit since the EU was formed.
A dollar is only equal to about one and a quarter euros these days. 6/23/2006 12:26:08 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Right, the value comparison b/w the dollar and Euro is the single barometer as to how the European Union has impacted the European Nations. This obviously means the EU has been a smashing success and made the quality of life for Europeans better. 6/23/2006 12:28:27 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
Explain how Europe is worse off since the inception of the EU if you want to make a point. 6/23/2006 12:33:49 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Stanford academic was saying a North American Union/Community was coming all the way back in 1993...
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/93/930401Arc3342.html
Quote : | "NEWS RELEASE
04/01/93
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (415) 723-2558
NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY WON'T REPLACE NATIONAL IDENTITIES STANFORD -- Canada, the United States and Mexico are in the process of creating a new regional identity and institutions - a counterpart to the European Community but with a small "c" on community, says Stanford University historian John Wirth.
Wirth and Robert Earle, a career foreign service officer and visiting scholar at the North American Institute in Santa Fe, N.M., spoke recently to a Stanford audience about their efforts to gather a group of prominent authors, politicians and scholars to speculate about the possible shapes of a future North American identity.
"Three separate countries are creating a new, larger community. This is virtually inevitable, although few people have ideas yet on what it will be like," said Wirth, president of the institute. " |
This has all been in the works behind the scenes for decades...slowly laying the foundations and making changes incrementally towards this end.6/23/2006 12:39:05 PM |
joe_schmoe All American 18758 Posts user info edit post |
by most standards, many western european countries have an overall higher quality of life than america. 6/23/2006 12:39:06 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
Explain how Europe is worse off since the inception of the EU if you want to make a point. 6/23/2006 12:39:40 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Apparantly our leading academic institutions have been hotbeds of thought on the coming North American Community (surprise surprise)...
http://clas.uchicago.edu/events/briefings/pastor.shtml
Quote : | "Constructing a North American Community
Robert Pastor, Director, Center for North American Studies, American University October 27, 2005
Converting North America, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico, from a geographical region on the map to a community with shared economic and social values will not happen overnight, but it can be accomplished, according to Robert Pastor, professor and director of the Center for North American Studies at American University in Washington, D.C.
Pastor, who is also the Vice President of International Affairs at American University, gave the first lecture for the Center for Latin American Studies’ Latin American Briefing Series on October 27. Pastor is the author of 16 books concerning economics, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. His 2001 book is titled Toward a North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New." |
6/23/2006 12:42:27 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
How about you try to seriously answer a legitimate question instead of attempting to brush it aside with sarcasm before moving back to your blitzkrieg of mindless cut and paste? 6/23/2006 12:45:28 PM |
Schuchula Veteran 138 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "by most standards, many western european countries have an overall higher quality of life than america." |
The austrian school invented something called Purchasing Power Parity, which tacked on to any metric of standard of living, biases the results in favor of countries with a low percentage of GDP in government spending (by only accounting for private GDP).
Be prepared to argue against PPP fanatics, because they're relentless.
They're also insane. According to them, Germany is poorer than Arkansas. I don't know if you've ever been to the two, but the one that *looks* like it was repeatedly carpet bombed and under an iron curtain for fourty years is not the one you would guess on first glance.6/23/2006 12:49:59 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
For those STILL doubting the reality of this move towards a North American Community/Union...
U.S. House Representative Henry Hyde on the coming North American Community:
http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/109/speech031805.htm
Quote : | "The Emergence of the North American Community
Henry J. Hyde March 18, 2005 Committee on International Relations U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515-0128
[...]
The North American Community
Although Mexico is unarguably a Latin American country, it is rarely appreciated here or in the United States that it is quickly assuming a North American identity as well. And as it does, our conceptions of North America must change as well. My point refers not to the obvious facts of geography but to orientation, to fundamental interests, even to self-identity. Mexico’s determination to enter the developed world will increasingly align her interests with ours and draw tighter the bonds we already share.
The legacy of the past may ensure that the concept of joining North America is given a dubious reception here. The false image of a passive Mexico reluctantly appended to a domineering United States erects very high barriers to this recognition. But the North America of which I speak is a community of deeply shared interests and seamless cooperation that is in the process of being jointly created, with Mexico assuming an increasingly prominent role in shaping the continental agenda.
As evidence of the latter, I need only point to the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Far from being the design of a powerful and predatory U.S. imposed on a weak Mexico, NAFTA originated as a Mexican initiative. The creation of a continental economy is the product of Mexico’s vision and drive, one to which the U.S. and Canada acceded, and one which I believe is very much in our own interests.
[...]
Conclusion
...The emergence of a North American Community is already well-advanced and is inexorably entangling our fates. The choice we have is to cooperate to realize the many possibilities being created by this nascent Community or to reprise the needless mistakes of the past." |
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 1:03 PM. Reason : ```]6/23/2006 12:53:11 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
HOW IS EUROPE WORSE OFF SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE EU? 6/23/2006 12:56:21 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Do you want to deny that this movement towards a North American Community/Union is taking place? 6/23/2006 12:57:54 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
I want you to stop trying to change the subject and answer the question that I asked you. 6/23/2006 12:59:42 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
I want you to answer my question. 6/23/2006 1:00:22 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
Didn't think so!
I asked first. If you answer mine, I will answer yours.
This is the part where someone asks a question that you aren't prepared to answer, so you attempt to sidetrack them with your own question and draw them into a different discussion that you hope to end by pasting another article that supports your position. 6/23/2006 1:05:01 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
If you answer mine, I will answer yours. 6/23/2006 1:08:09 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
This is the part where someone asks a question that you aren't prepared to answer, so you attempt to sidetrack them with your own question and draw them into a different discussion that you hope to end by pasting another article that supports your position. 6/23/2006 1:09:22 PM |
LoneSnark All American 12317 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "According to them, Germany is poorer than Arkansas" |
Statistically speaking it is.
Quote : | "biases the results in favor of countries with a low percentage of GDP in government spending (by only accounting for private GDP)" |
Hmm, that is not how it is calculated. It is a GDP modifier, it doesn't care who is doing the purchasing only the relative prices between the two countries.
For example, if we assume people in Arkansas are equally as productive as Germans then common sense and PPP will report the people of Arkansas as relatively wealthier because land and derived goods are cheaper in Arkansas.
The reason you feel that Arkansas looks poorer is because of the greater degree of inequality in many southern states. In other words, you only saw the trailers of the white trash and ignored the condos of of the wealthy.
While you may be happier that Germany has fewer trailer trash you failed to notice that it also had far fewer wealthy suburbs stashed away.
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 1:18 PM. Reason : .,.]6/23/2006 1:13:15 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
Even though my question in no way related to this, I will answer it simply to appease my little buddy.
Quote : | "Do you want to deny that this movement towards a North American Community/Union is taking place?" |
No.
Moving on...
How is Europe worse off since the inception of the EU?
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 1:39 PM. Reason : .]6/23/2006 1:39:02 PM |
salisburyboy Suspended 9434 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "How is Europe worse off since the inception of the EU?" |
How is it better?
Loss of sovereignty and national identity, movement towards global government, importing of cheap foreign labor that depresses wages, relocation of manufacturing jobs due to "free trade" policies, etc.
What's good about all that?
Economically speaking, absorbing poor countries into wealthy countries diminishes the wages and quality of life of those in the wealthier countries. It brings the superior nations down in status, economy, and quality of life. So-called "free trade" policies that eliminate borders and tariffs are only good for the corporations and the elite...not for the common people. The economic situation in Europe is bleak (as in America). And that is in reference to the common people (looking at wages, inflation, personal debt, etc.), not in reference to the elite as gagued by the stock market.
The fact that the Euro has increased in value to the dollar is only demonstrative of the fact that the U.S. dollar is plunging in value due to massive inflation and debt.6/23/2006 1:56:36 PM |
Schuchula Veteran 138 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Statistically speaking it is." |
Depends on the relevence of the statistics.
Quote : | ""biases the results in favor of countries with a low percentage of GDP in government spending (by only accounting for private GDP)"
Hmm, that is not how it is calculated. It is a GDP modifier, it doesn't care who is doing the purchasing only the relative prices between the two countries." |
Exactly. Relative prices of similar products are tremendously affected by having a GDP that's more than 50% government subsidized. People with the same incomes will afford very different things.
Quote : | "For example, if we assume people in Arkansas are equally as productive as Germans then common sense and PPP will report the people of Arkansas as relatively wealthier because land and derived goods are cheaper in Arkansas." |
Which is true. Arkansas has a beneficial opportunity cost. It's cheap to live there. However, expensive places to live have a higher supply of business, which is also true in this case, for Germany.
Quote : | "The reason you feel that Arkansas looks poorer is because of the greater degree of inequality in many southern states. In other words, you only saw the trailers of the white trash and ignored the condos of of the wealthy.
While you may be happier that Germany has fewer trailer trash you failed to notice that it also had far fewer wealthy suburbs stashed away." |
This is certainly not true. Nor is it a phenomenon of a socialist vs a capitalist state. This is a cultural difference. We're a discount society. We prefer paying less and living in the boondocks. Germany, on the other hand, is very urban. As a result, you're looking at 200 and 1000 square meter apartments vs 2000 and 6000 square foot houses. Apples and Oranges.
The real evidence of economic power comes from the abundance of major firms, international (or interstate) trade, or basically how much money the state moves in other parts of the world. Arkansas has much less of an effect on the rest of the US than Germany does on the rest of the EU, or on the United States for that matter. Of course, this is apples and oranges again. For my next post I'll compare a section of Germany with the same population size as Arkansas (since it is much larger), and perhaps we'll see who's better off in the end.
The PPP system has been criticized for a useless definition of poverty, an inaccurate reflection of relative costs, and a
The previous type of GDP and GNP statistics, for decades, showed several EU countries ahead of the US in living standards. Nothing changed, just the sample bias of the statistics.
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 2:07 PM. Reason : arguing with randroid]6/23/2006 2:03:51 PM |
GrumpyGOP yovo yovo bonsoir 18191 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Economically speaking, absorbing poor countries into wealthy countries diminishes the wages and quality of life of those in the wealthier countries. It brings the superior nations down in status, economy, and quality of life." |
Why should that happen to us when it didn't happen to Europe?6/23/2006 2:09:04 PM |
LoneSnark All American 12317 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Which is true. Arkansas has a beneficial opportunity cost. It's cheap to live there. However, expensive places to live have a higher supply of business, which is also true in this case, for Germany." |
Could you rephrase your points? You freely admit that a dollar goes farther in Arkansas than it does in Germany, and you freely admit that the people in Arkansas earn about the same that Germans do (before PPP), so what does it matter what the "supply of business" is, regardless of what it is?6/23/2006 2:22:27 PM |
PinkandBlack Suspended 10517 Posts user info edit post |
Hey Sals,
I'm currently at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. You know what the rugby team here is called?
THE SKULL AND BONES!!! someone call Alex Jones!
Quote : | "How is Europe worse off since the inception of the EU?"" |
Most people here in Ireland would answer this way: The inclusion of Eastern Europe and its inept economies in the continental economy has decreased overall quality and opened countries up to a flood of poor immigrants who put a strain on the country (sound familiar?). With EE now in in the form of Poland, the Baltics, and the former Czechoslovakia, and with Romania and Bulgaria coming in next year, Western companies now have a cheap labor force to draw from. Thousands of Poles come here each month, but most find jobs easily since we have such a strong economy right now. Same is true for most of Western Europe. However, in many cases unqualified or delinquent EEs come here and end up not finding a job. They then turn to crime and other forms of anti-social behavior. Tony Blair talks a lot about this, among immigrants and young delinquents. Some companies, especially in Germany, have begun to give more jobs to immigrants, thus saving money but putting a strain on unskilled German laborers.
Also, as far as production per hour worked, Western Europe is the best in the world. Ireland, Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands all rank ahead or roughly equal to the US. GDP is misleading, however, as people here generally tend to be more pragmatic when it comes to living standards (especially w/ cars and oil and housing and whatnot). Theres a lot less land to buy and build on in smaller countries, of course, and with decent public transit, who needs to spend the money? Not everyone has to blow every red cent on a new giant suv, you know.
You should all read 50 Facts You Didnt Know About Europe. Did you know that there are probably 5x as many guns per household in Switzerland than in the US?
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 2:53 PM. Reason : .]6/23/2006 2:41:12 PM |
Schuchula Veteran 138 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Could you rephrase your points? You freely admit that a dollar goes farther in Arkansas than it does in Germany, and you freely admit that the people in Arkansas earn about the same that Germans do (before PPP), so what does it matter what the "supply of business" is, regardless of what it is?" |
A dollar doesn't go any further in Arkansas. That's not what GDP/PPP/per capita analyzes. But the other point is legitimate for unrelated reasons.
If you took the average German income and bought a car, then did the same with an Arkansan income, it would take proportionally less of that of the Arkansan. Same goes for many other equivalent commodities. By PPP standards, that equates to the average person in Arkansas having a better living standard.
What it neglects is that the price of the car (or anything) in Germany is higher, because it costs more to do business at all there. The tax system takes out a much larger chunk of the economy and invests it in other areas. It costs more to produce things, and people have less money to buy things. The aggregate amount of per capita wealth in the system is greater though, as demonstrated by GDP/per capita. Germany invests more in healthcare, education, environmental policies, public utilities, and the average German definitely gets a bigger pie when it comes to all of those over the average Arkansan (or American for that matter), and the result is slightly less purchasing decision in the rest of the economy.
Does that make more sense?
[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 3:04 PM. Reason : ,]6/23/2006 3:03:04 PM |
Mr. Joshua Swimfanfan 43948 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Loss of sovereignty and national identity, movement towards global government, importing of cheap foreign labor that depresses wages, relocation of manufacturing jobs due to "free trade" policies, etc." |
What European countries have lost their sovereignty or identity?
Regional unity =/= global government. As technology allows information to move faster, many cultural and regional differences will slowly fade. This has been true through all of human history and is not a result of any trade agreement.
Can you provide any proof that wages in Europe have been depressed? This sounds like more of your apocalyptic conjecture. I'm not saying that it isn't true, I just want to see proof if you're going to repeatedly use it as a talking point.
Manufacturing jobs have traditionally followed cheap labor. This is not a result of any trade agreement. Conversely, poor people usually go to areas where labor is needed.
Quote : | "So-called "free trade" policies that eliminate borders and tariffs are only good for the corporations and the elite...not for the common people." |
Please substantiate this.
Quote : | "And that is in reference to the common people (looking at wages, inflation, personal debt, etc.), not in reference to the elite as gagued by the stock market." |
Are you really saying that the stock market only effects the elite? Do you even know anything about economics or are you just living in some absurd 1880's mindset?
If you are going to make claims about the global economy please provide some evidence other than your wild conjecture.6/23/2006 3:07:52 PM |
GrumpyGOP yovo yovo bonsoir 18191 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "Most people here in Ireland would answer this way: The inclusion of Eastern Europe and its inept economies in the continental economy has decreased overall quality" |
That's a fucking riot, considering that people in the rest of the EU once said the same thing about Ireland.6/23/2006 3:25:44 PM |
LoneSnark All American 12317 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "What it neglects is that the price of the car (or anything) in Germany is higher, because it costs more to do business at all there. " |
So what? The reasons do not matter, all that matters is that the goods and services people consume cost more in Germany.
Quote : | "Germany invests more in healthcare, education, environmental policies, public utilities, and the average German definitely gets a bigger pie when it comes to all of those over the average Arkansan (or American for that matter), and the result is slightly less purchasing decision in the rest of the economy." |
I don't have the actual figures but I'm pretty sure healthcare spending is higher in Arkansas than in Germany. Not that it matters anyway, you see Government gets its money from taxes which are extracted through either income tax or consumption taxes and then spent on government services, which includes healthcare.
Wait, you'll never guess what I just realized: I'm arguing about this all wrong. PPP doesn't change the per-capita figures that much for industrialized countries. In Germany PPP actually inflates the GDP and it deflates the GDP of poor old America. So, evidently, the citizens of Arkansas are directly more productive than Germans regardless of PPP modification.6/23/2006 3:31:45 PM |