so if corporate profits are at record highs, then I have a question?

[white_wolf]

Where are the damn jobs for people? I mean the RW keeps saying if we just lowered taxes on the rich and made the country more "friendly" to business than the jobs would come back, well I call Bullshit! How much more friendly can we get then allow them to make enough money to give out million dollar bonuses? I mean why are they still shipping jobs overseas if their making record highs? Oh I get it by "friendly" they mean Americans must be willing to accept third world living conditions and wages right? Screw that! I have a plan and its simple we will start enforcing tariffs on anything that comes across our borders if it costs 50 cents to make in china, but would cost 2 dollars to make here then we charge the company $1.50 and we tax them high, however if they want to open plants here and pay American workers a decent livable wage then I don't mind giving them breaks because they will actually be helping us, but until then to hell with them and their tax cuts.

[RKP5637]

1. Well said!!! n/t

[abluelady]

2. It Is Amazing How the Obvious Isn't Addressed. eom

[dkf]

3. Or we could simply demand China let the Yuan float properly.

Problem is we are dependent on their buying treasuries and are in a compromised situation.

[FBaggins]

4. Profits can come from additional production OR from restraining costs.

IOW... you don't necessarily need more people in order to make more money. Some of them are making more money because they aren't hiring.

[white_wolf]

5. Well then we need to find a way to restrain their profits

for the good of the county. I refuse to accept this fool notion that to compete American must become a Third World country. We need to make it so that it is more profitable for companies to do business here and pay people a decent livable wage than it is to ship jobs overseas. They have had every opportunity to do it on their own and its clear they won't so the government must do something. We can't expect these people to care about the common good of America because frankly they don't give a damn about this country as Jefferson said "Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains"

[FBaggins]

8. Well... *THAT* is sure to attract jobs.

< /sarcasm>

I refuse to accept this fool notion that to compete American must become a Third World country.

Never been to a 3rd world country, eh?

[white_wolf]

10. No I haven't

but I know big corporations love to send jobs there because they can exploit workers and pay them very little. Hell I've even heard some RWers say that if Americans just accepted lower wages than jobs would come back. Maybe that is how you feel, but I strongly disagree. And as for us becoming a Third World county if things don't change it could very well happen. Wealth and power is already concentrated into the hands of too few and our Rights are slowly being taken away. And what is wrong with restraining their already massive profits? They will still make more than the average person can dream of. If they want to continue to ship jobs overseas then fine they can pay our taxes and tariffs.

[unblock]

6. additional production is profitable ONLY if you can sell it at enough to cover additional costs

and being able to sell those extra goodies depends in no small way on american consumers having more money to spend, which in turn depends on a much lower unemployment rate, (which affects compensation for everyone, not just the presently unemployed).

[white_wolf]

7. That is the thing I don't understand

We are one of the biggest buyers of goods in the world, so how can these companies expect to keep making money if we are all too poor to pay for their stuff?

[unblock]

11. they don't. we're too expensive. they expect the middle class of china and india to buy it all.

we're in the process of being left behind in the dust.

soon america will be little more than owners of companies that hire and sell overseas only, and their staff of workers who do only those jobs that can't reasonably be outsourced. so, learn to cut hair or balance a tray of food....

[justiceischeap]

9. I got the gist of that from the SOTU address

Obama said something to the effect that if companies create/keep jobs in the US, they get a tax break but if they export those jobs they don't get the break. I know I didn't imagine him saying that.

[The Straight Story]

12. Because they are investing those profits in other countries where labor is cheaper

So they are creating jobs, but they don't care about creating them here.