Cartwright: A trade war with China would be the worst thing we could do. I’m tired of hearing everyone bitch and moan about how China is taking jobs from America. The simple fact is that we can’t compete with their low wage labor. They’re producing goods with every bit as much quality or even better than what we can produce here in America, and they’re doing this at a fraction of the cost. American workers aren’t willing to work for $2 an hour. Besides, we’ve got a minimum wage law that sets wages at levels that make us less competitive than manufacturers in other countries. Continue reading
Business
Symposium 2012: Can U.S. corporations compete with those in other countries such as China, India, and Mexico?
Sydney: It is obviously very difficult for U.S. corporations to compete with corporations in these countries. The main reason is that wages in China, India, and Mexico are so low compared to American ones. The obvious solution would be to cut wages, however this is not a good idea because it would put further financial pressure on American families and reduce the standard of living. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: What is your outlook for the economy? What do you perceive to be the biggest threat to the U.S. economy?
Sydney: The U.S economy obviously has a lot of room for improvement. If the government can get its act together and implement some fiscal reforms then it can definitely recover. The main problem is the country is still mired in debt. The debt ceiling and fiscal cliff debates have shown that both parties are unwilling or unable to compromise but the simple fact is that the government needs more money. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: With recent developments in Michigan, are unions going to become obsolete?
Sydney: Unions have certainly been under fire lately. The recent events in Michigan have greatly weakened the power of unions and it seems likely that this will continue. Many politicians are also critical of unions, especially on the Republican side. It almost seems that the unions have become a scapegoat for the state of the U.S economy with claims they are holding big business (among other things) to ransom. However, unions are important because they protect workers’ rights and help ensure they receive fair pay. Continue reading
Cheap Chinese Labor: How Can U.S. Businesses Compete? Part II
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: In the first part of this article we saw the many difficulties that American manufacturers are faced with in trying to compete with their Chinese counterparts. It is difficult, if not impossible, to tell an employer who is forced to lay off a large number of workers or close his or her business that he or she should try to understand the situation in China and see if there are any opportunities there. However the reality is that China is a nation with over 1 billion consumers. Continue reading
Cheap Chinese Manufacturing: How Can U.S. Businesses Compete? Part I
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: For at least a decade now American manufacturers have been fighting what in most cases has been a losing battle against a tidal wave of cheap Chinese imports. There are a number of reasons why Chinese imports are so much cheaper than goods made in the U.S., and pretty much every other nation as well, these include: very cheap labour, an undervalued currency that is pegged to the greenback, and an inexpensive supply change (ranging from components to cargo handling). Continue reading
Symposium 2011: Is China a strategic partner, a strategic competitor, or an enemy of the United States? Are they an economic threat or a military threat?
Michigan: China is too busy building factories and infrastructure to worry about such things as world peace keeping, nuclear weapons, or a world class military. We need China and they need us. I think that China may have the best economy in the world today. So yes, they are an economic threat. As far as a military threat, they can have anything they want, but they are content to set back and watch us spend our money. Continue reading
Symposium 2011: Over the past few decades the Postal Service and Amtrak have racked up billions of dollars in losses. Should we privatize them?
Cartwright: With regards to Amtrak, I’ll put that in the infrastructure discussion from above. We need to modernize our railways and add high speed rails. Once that’s done, we can talk about privatization. Continue reading
Symposium 2011: What rates would you propose for the personal income tax, the corporate tax, capital gains & dividends? Should we abolish the death tax? Which tax credits and deductions, if any, would you keep? Do you support Obama’s proposal to extend the 2% payroll tax holiday for another year?
RMC: This is a real simple one for me. Zero percent for personal income tax, 0% corporate tax, 0% capital gains and dividend taxes. Yes, we should get rid of the estate tax or the death tax. Mortgage interest deductions. And, finally, no we should not extend the 2% payroll tax holiday. Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 