Political Crossfire Forums

Citizen of Canuckistan · Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Calgary, Canada

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/13/softwood041213.html What Gives the United States the right to steal our hard earned money? Why hasn't the US given our money back despite the rulings against them in NAFTA and WTO. I've worked as a tree planter for the BC forestry companies and i know how hard everyone involved works. Why is the USA stealing honest peoples money?

red dragon · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 1695 Location: Cardiff

because they are hypocrites who spout free trade and anti protectionism from government, but then do the exact opposite with their own policies (look at steel tariffs from Europe to protect US steel workers jobs) It's a joke and makes the US look stupid.

Citizen of Canuckistan · Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Calgary, Canada

Its down right criminal and totaly insane. I hope they choke. I believe what their doing is asking us to bend over and kiss our **s goodbye. Haven't they learnt a thing from the great depression, protectionism only creates problems.

eynon · Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 7:47 am Post subject:

you guys are right....US trade policy is not very free at all...(grrr)..funny thing is so many people think the WTO is a tool of the US, but it's the only thing giving us hell when it comes to trade...GOD, I'd wish we'd follow it's rulings....I remember back when we were trying to set up a free trade zone for all of the americas and negotiating with Lula's gov in brazil. We were trying to get them to drop all their tarriffs against our goods, while at the same time we would be keeping our tarriffs against Brazilian steel, sugar, and agriculture....that doesn't seem very free to me.

Your right though Kanuck...we owe you some money for lumber, plus some of your drugs would be nice too....btw did we ever pay you for all the lumber you lost due to american produced acid rain back in the 50s and 60s?

Citizen of Canuckistan · Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Calgary, Canada

Nope, never saw a cent as far as I've heard. America hates being beat in anything so the gov't sets up these rediculous "free" trade areas that arn't free at all. If everyone actually follows the free trade idea we would all be rich but america has to produce its own high cost wheat and steel. Europe is worse though.

red dragon · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 1695 Location: Cardiff

Quote: Europe is worse though.

In what respect. if I remember that is why Bush put tariffs on EU steel because it was so cheap and was threatening US jobs.

Reluctant Prophet · Joined: 13 Aug 2004 Posts: 289

Fare trade, not free trade. Screw the WTO. They are not worried about anything but the money......

D@N · Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:49 pm Post subject:

They've been stealing from us for a while now, do you remember a year or two back when they were having rolling brown outs in southwest united states from lack of power? Well where do you think the relief electricity came from, thats right, Canada of course. Anyways, America started running up a pretty big power bill and tryed to wiggle out of it, and outrageously , our government bent right over for them so that they only had to pay 10% of what they owed us, and the bill was somewhere up in the billions!

America doesn't play fair in the sand box, we should switch to Europe or Asia :lol:

Citizen of Canuckistan · Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Calgary, Canada

Europe has is a net exporter of sugar, that just shouldn't be, and its all because of huge farm subsidies. Yeah, I am pretty confident that the world can "encourage" the US to play by its own rules eventually. Don't know how exactly but perhaps they will see the error of their ways and pay us back. Not holding my breath for that one. Trade with Japan and more democratic asian powers is definately and option. Canada's trade relations with Europe ended the day WW2 ended. The industrialization caused by the war and the new relationship between the US and Canada ended it. Besides the EU basically screws everyone whos not a member and Canada prolly won't get invited.

D@N · Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2004 2:24 am Post subject:

I think we should trade with Cuba more, On account that America has their hands around the small island and is trying to suffocate it. Cubans have ea higher education adn very good health care dispute the blockade, could you imagine how well they'd fair with the proper equipment.

I'm not very kean on economics, so I won't be able to defend my ideas very well :lol:

I think we should put priority on home manufacturing to help lower the unemployment rate. try to centralize the production for the products Canadians use. Or trade with countries that will stand up for their workers I.E, No sweatshop shirts.

Citizen of Canuckistan · Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Calgary, Canada

The downside with trading with cuba is that the US will continue or expand their illegal tarrifs against us and the USA represents like 80% of our exports. We need to eliminate our dependance on the US market before we begin to piss them off to avoid economic reprisals. Canada has always followed a policy of low inflation rates and that policy prevents the use of a low unemployment policy. Both policy's goals are the same but the empasis of our policy is to prevent run away inflation. In compensation the gov't should prolly have a retraining/hireing program to help people get back to work. Time and time again gov't controlled industry has failed, the Soviet Union in the 1980's and the wet tory gov'ts in the UK before Thatcher. Gov't controlled industry doesn't seem to work. But gov't owned industry can work because the gov't would take the place of stockholders and they could demand certan standards. The free market system is the best system we have developed so far, it creates emmese wealth but does not distribute it evenly. We need to modify the system to equitably distribute the wealth created.