So yesterday my local shit stirrers covered yet another anti stim story

[nadinbrzezinski]

A solar company that received stim funds is closing down... why? CHINA. They cannot compete with China... yes it is that simple.

So instead of my local shit stirrers raising the elephant in the room... (cheap labor, free trade and all that)... they of course twisted this as to how the stim is worthless.

Now let me say something though... that factory, not the first, is a symbol of what is wrong. We cannot compete with foreign cheap labor. Our leaders, here it is BOTH parties, instead of going... hmm perhaps this is no longer a good idea... are going MORE FREE TRADE... yep that will create jobs...

And this is the summary of what is going wrong.

[JDPriestly]

1. Free trade is the core problem.

We cannot afford to import so much stuff.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. It is not the import, it is even more basic than that

we are not protecting our own industry by using things like tariffs.

To put it simply, if I produce those solar cells here, and it runs me, for sake of argument, 10 bucks per... and it runs me five dollars to import it due to taxes, cheap labor et al... tariff it so it still runs 10 bucks. That will encourage domestic production.

As long as we do not protect it, our manufacturing will continue to go to hell.

I can see "free trade" with a few things... but things like national security items et al, not so much. Also about half of it is energy... aka oil.

[JDPriestly]

3. I agree. And our trade imbalance is sufficient reason to

press to become energy independent using clean, green energy.

[Zax2me]

4. Well, it didn't work. Explaining the truth why, they shut down.

Rather blame it on Dems or Obama.
If the excuse makes for a good right wing sound bite, that's it.
Stop thinking, run with the sound bite.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. They shut down because they could not compete with

CHINESE cheap labor...

And it is not Obama... it is not Boehenr... it is BOTH PARTIES. BOTH push FREE TRADE.

[eleny]

5. Free trade instead of tariffs is the decision that has lead to economic disaster

American exceptionalism ought to be measured by decision making not mythology.

[Sirveri]

7. I can't compete with a person who works 16 hours a day for 12 dollars.

That's the bottom line. But apparently the government thinks I should be forced to compete with them at that level. So yes, trade policy failure.

Also which plant? I've got one near me but haven't been paying attention to it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I think in Los Angeles

this is San Diego... my local shit stirrers were almost gleeful

[girl gone mad]

8. China heavily subsidizes their solar industry.

Much more so than we do.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. They made that STRATEGIC decision indeed

:thumbsup: