Stocks & Mutual Funds Information

Protectionism


First let's see what protectionism is. According to Mr. Webster it is the advocacy, system, or theory of protecting domestic producers by impeding or limiting, as by tariffs or quotas, the importation of foreign goods and services.

That sounds pretty good. It is something that will protect the jobs of our workers from goods that can be produced elsewhere and undercut the prices of our local goods. How? There are a couple of ways. The merchandise or commodity itself is in very large supply in another country and is mined or grown there very cheaply. Not much you can do about that. Or the labor costs of production are vastly less than our own workers and the product can be manufactured for less.

The average worker in the U.S. makes about $12.00 per hour while the workers in Mexico get $2.00 and the people in China average 60 cents per hour. How do you compete with them? Answer - you can't. So what do you do? If you are a shoe manufacturer in the U.S. you ask the federal government to levy a tariff (tax) on all imported shoes (or maybe just the kind you make). This sure helps that particular shoemaker who might have 300 employees making sneakers. Now the sneaker maker can keep his prices up and his workers working. That's good.

But wait a minute. There are millions of feet that need sneakers and that means millions of consumers are paying more for comparable quality sneakers. Is it fair to give special consideration to a very small group that automatically penalizes the mass of consumers?

Examine the definition of tariff again and think it through to the end. A tariff is a tax on consumers.

You are paying more for certain goods (and there are about 13,000 separate tariffs) than you should just for the benefit of a few manufacturers who cannot compete in the world market. Every country is not just a unit unto itself any more. We now have a global economy that allows specialization of products. If a company cannot compete it should not be in business and should not penalize the majority of its citizens for the benefit of a few.You, the consumer, should not have to pay more for tomatoes, brassieres and steel just so our politicians can get reelected. That is what is boils down to. Unions will promise to back certain candidates if they will vote for tariffs (tax increases) that protect incompetent manufacturers. The steel tariff is an excellent example. Bush put on a tariff when he could have given a tax break to help modernize that industry. In the long run our steel production will disappear because of continuing inefficiency.If we get into a trade war where one country trumps another with more and more tariffs it is a guaranteed loser for everyone. Visualize this as building a house of cards. You end up with a game of 52-pickup. It could go to the ultimate of deflation and depressions for all the countries of the world.

Protectionism in all of history has never worked.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't BuyIt!" has helped thousands of people make moneyand keep their profits with his simple 2-stepmethod. Read the first chapter athttp://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Streetdoes not want you to know.

Copyright 2005


MORE RESOURCES:

Greenlime Ensures a Healthy Exam Season
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Co-payments brings partial responsibility of payment and hence scrutiny of Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine.

and more »


Resolvity Enters India's Cloud Telephony Market with the Launch of VoiceGain
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Co-payments brings partial responsibility of payment and hence scrutiny of Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine.

and more »


Power Integrations Announces LED Driver Reference Design for High-Efficiency ...
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Co-payments brings partial responsibility of payment and hence scrutiny of Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine.

and more »


Are Portfolio Managers Irrational?
Zacks.com
Stock/Mutual Fund Screening - Find better stocks and mutual funds. The ones most likely to beat the market and provide a positive return. My Portfolio - Track your Portfolio and find out where your stocks/mutual funds stack up with the Zacks Rank.

and more »


Anil's Graphic Novels Thru Cyberwit . Net publishers: Shobha Mirza PA
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this website any further this point.



Online Investing Platform Kapitall Now Lets You Trade Stocks
TechCrunch
Kapitall, a web app that investors can use to research and analyze stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds, is debuting the ability to trade stocks via its platform today. Kapitall's interface is inspired by video game design and combines a ...

and more »


Dax Networks Launches DX-372DVP-A for Multi-location Video Surveillance
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this website any further this point.

and more »


PR Web

Nielsen: U.S. consumer confidence up despite cash woes, saving strategies
Drug Store News
For those that did have funds to spare, however, most said they used the money toward savings (34%), followed by paying off debts (31%) and putting it toward retirement and stocks/mutual funds (8% each). Nielsen also revealed consumers' the top three ...
Survey: U.S. consumers more upbeat about finances, job prospectsChain Store Age

all 18 news articles »


Manhattan Software Announces Strategic Partnership With Indiabulls for ...
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine
Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this website any further this point.

and more »


msnbc.com

Romney Tax Return Shows Guy is Really Rich, Pays Low Rate
The Hollywood Gossip
The vast majority came from stocks, mutual funds and other investments, typically taxed a rate of 15 percent - significantly lower than normal income. Of course, this is the case because the money Romney invested was, theoretically, earned via his ...
Romney's Tax Return: Compared with Athletes and Entertainers, He's Quite PoorInternational Business Times
Could you be a 15-percenter? Decoding tax ratesThe Associated Press

all 3,283 news articles »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006