The Framers of the Constitution mandated free trade among all the states in the union. The free economic system for the United States was clearly spelled out in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution.
"No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another."1
The original concept of free trade is healthy for our country and global economy. However, trade agreements such as NAFTA and WTO have simply cost Americans hundreds of thousands of jobs, moved plants to Mexico and lowered wages for American workers. How has this helped America?
It's good economy for us to sell to China, India and the rest of the world. It's good for Americans to have the choice to buy from other countries. This is good competition. It's not good competition if China does not play by the rules. If China is using slave labor and manipulating their currency so they can sell merchandise cheaper, that is not fair. If they are putting unfair taxes on our products so that they are not competitively priced in China, that must stop.
It's not good when American corporations ship our jobs to Mexico, China and the far corners of the world. Corporations who ship our jobs overseas should continue to pay the current corporate tax if more than 30% of their work force is out of the country. On the other hand if corporations will keep at least 70% of the jobs in the United States then let's reward them with a 15% tax rate.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan have made the American auto industry stay on their toes. I believe we have great American cars today. I drive a Ford truck and an old Toyota van with over 250,000 miles on the odometer. I do not believe we would have the kind of American cars that we have today without the competition of foreign automakers. As Americans we deserve the right to choose which car we want to drive. Competition gives us better choices.
I do not mind that China and India are making clothes and furniture. I do mind if American corporations are moving all of our work there and hiring people for two dollars an hour and then shipping the products back here to the United States to sell to us for a high price and a high profit.
The Amish are still proving Americans can make the best furniture in the world. We make our products in America better. Our corporations must be given a chance to thrive. If our corporations are going to thrive we should further do the following:
- We should lower corporate tax rates.
- We must encourage right to work policies.
- We must have the opportunity to ship our products to China, India and around the world.
- We can compete with the world. We have hard workers and the most creative minds on the planet. Our labor force can compete with anybody.
Other nations impose large fees on our products to restrict their citizens from buying our products and that is unfair. We should not do business with countries that limit our ability to sell in their countries by imposing ridiculous fees and taxes. It's also unfair of us to impose tariffs and fees on foreign products to make it difficult for Americans to buy.
It's good for American companies to have competition and Americans should have the right to decide if they want to buy a foreign product without government penalty or management. American products will only become better and remain financially competitive if there are foreign products to choose from.
Most Americans would prefer to buy American products. At every opportunity we should buy American made products. Examine the product carefully as it seems to be harder all the time to find items made in the USA. Most all Americans are trying to make their money stretch further. Products that are lower in price are going to have our attention when we shop. When we buy we each have to be responsible for our own money management and try to determine what is good, better and best for our hard earned dollars.
Glenn Mollette is the author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and nine other books. He is the author of hundreds of articles and features. Hear him each Sunday night on XM radio 131 at 8 EST.
Find him on www.facebook/glennmollette.com or email him directly at firstname.lastname@example.org