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February 3, 2009 3:22pm by David Farrar

Rhetoric vs Reality

obamahyp

Hat Tip: Adam Smith and Daily Telegraph.

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Comment22

United States
Barack Obama
Free Trade

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Comments (22)

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grumpyoldhori

David, does the USA owe any other countries a huge imbalance in trade ?
Obama is the boss of the USA, so I would be damn surprised if he was
saying he had to put other countries interests ahead of the USA when it came to
trade.
Here is a point, other than oil does the USA NEED to trade with other
countries with it’s market ?
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February 3, 2009 3:35pm
labrator

Protectionism is always popular when times are tough, even though it makes no sense. Lets see what the Europeans think of this if it goes ahead, the USA has had to back down before…

GOH: I’d hate to think how much an iPhone or a pair of Nikes cost if they were made in the USA.
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February 3, 2009 3:37pm
Bryan Spondre

Lets thank Gerry once again for canning the nauseating Buy NZ Made campaign. Now it’s time for Bill as shareholding mionister to can the xenophobic Kiwibank campaign and instruct Jim ( Bolger) to get it prepped for sale to a Chinese owner 🙂
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February 3, 2009 4:49pm
CraigM

GOH: I’d hate to think how much an iPhone or a pair of Nikes cost if they were made in the USA

I’m thinking they would cost about the same, as the market just wouldn’t pay too much more. The only thing that would change is the profit made by the manufacturers!

Those $2/3/400 Nikes /Adidas’ et all…………are made in the same factories by the same people for about USD2.50 a pair. How else do you think they can afford to pay celebrities 20 million to market them?

I quite like capitalism, 😉 but stuff like this kind of makes me feel ill.
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February 3, 2009 5:04pm
wikiriwhis business

“I quite like capitalism, but stuff like this kind of makes me feel ill.”

Nike, Adidas and the Warehouse aren’t about fair competition and capitalism

just the next thing to slavery and trash products.

When we are in a one world economy this country will be run on the backs of sweat shop workers under Chinese masters.

The politicians will have redirected their padded up bank accounts leaving us behind.
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February 3, 2009 5:15pm
slijmbal

Bryan

agreed governments shouldn’t be in business (kiwibank) and the advertising used is (almost but not quite) as jingoistic as what the Ozzies do themselves but strangely enough the Ozzie subsidiaries make a damn site more per most measures ($ loaned, operational costs etc) than their parent companies do. Signs of a not very competitive environment.

As much as I dislike Anderton – he was right for the wrong reasons – we do need something to break this cosy cartel, which exports about 2% of our GDP each year – halves the benefits Fonterra brings in.

NZ is vulnerable to cartel like behaviour
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February 3, 2009 5:15pm
wikiriwhis business

“NZ is vulnerable to cartel like behaviour”

what I just said.
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February 3, 2009 5:16pm
slijmbal

wiki

“NZ is vulnerable to cartel like behaviour” – That’s nowhere near what you said. You ranted against capitalism and China

don’t hijack my comments
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February 3, 2009 5:27pm
slijmbal

It’s also noticeable that the US speak the free trade speak – but in practise the US is one of the more protectionist economies around

As an example in point, the current disintegration of their auto industry – the protectionism finally failed
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February 3, 2009 5:42pm
Ratbiter

slijmbal – I think the US car makers did that to themselves. Continuing to bluff their customers with the idea that they all OWE it to themselves as Americans to buy a big donk V8 with impressive mag wheels and a chrome grille is just not a sensible business plan.

Especially when the Japanese are willing and able to listen to what the market ACTUALLY WANTS, and thus supply good practical cars like Honda Accords and Subaru Legacies that go faster, go round corners better, are safer, use far less fuel, cost far less to buy, and go far, FAR longer before needing maintenance.

All we are seeing with the US car industry is evolution at work…
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February 3, 2009 5:49pm
Ratbiter

Bryan Spondre @ 4:49: hear hear! In these dire economic times, what we want is for Kiwibank to be paying dividends to Chinese investors, not New Zealand ones!
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February 3, 2009 6:08pm
Portia

re Australian banks. Australia’s four pillars policy is a classic example of protectionism at work. The policy prevents any big bank mergers involving the top four Australian banks (Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and National Australia), thereby artificially keeping them all propped up.

Over the years there have been lots of criticism about the inefficiencies and anti-competitive behaviour that has ensued.

The four banks use the Fonterra humbug, that they need the policy to survive internationally.
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February 3, 2009 6:28pm
grumpyoldhori

Ratbiter, I will take that bet, a Falcon with a 351 Cleveland up against a Subaru Legacy on Bathurst.
Motors to be blue printed only.
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February 3, 2009 7:34pm
side show bob

Wikiriwhis business “Nike, Adidas and the Warehouse aren’t about fair competition and capitalism.” So what’s your problem WB? It’s your money spend it where you are happy. If more refused to buy their products it might put an end to the “slavery and trash products”.

I see Obama has a strong dislike of Rush Limbaugh and would dearly love to shut down conservative radio. Poor Obama it hasn’t taken long for his lefty spots to show.
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February 3, 2009 8:37pm
wikiriwhis business

“You ranted against capitalism ”

where did I rant against capatilism mr One eye?

Huh, where did I huh??
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February 3, 2009 8:44pm
Glutaemus Maximus

“Bryan Spondre @ 4:49: hear hear! In these dire economic times, what we want is for Kiwibank to be paying dividends to Chinese investors, not New Zealand ones!’

At least we will NEVER have to deal with those evil bastards from Canada.

What’s he called, old failed history teacher gave those plastic Yanks a bloody nose.

At least we never sold anything strategic like the Capitals power generation to overseas owners!

Aren’t the Chines much more trustworthy than those fucking Canucks, and their white bears!
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February 4, 2009 3:02am
slijmbal

Ratbiter

“slijmbal – I think the US car makers did that to themselves”

if you look carefully, you’ll see that the US auto industry has availed itself of huge subsidies at a domestic level over a long period of time – that’s protectionism in my book

Damn this insomnia and wireless network!!!
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February 4, 2009 4:43am
Komata

Isn’t America fascinating?

As Slijmbal noted, it pushes like mad for ‘free trade’ (FREE for AMERICA to trade) to the point of obnoxiousness, then yells and screams ‘unfair advantage’ and ‘subsidies’ if other nations (yes, even little New Zealand – witness the Lamb fiasco of a few years ago) as much as hints at wanting to reciprocate.

Yes, the USA is truly the land of the Free (trade) and the Brave (negotiators) – but only so long you are one of its citizens!

But then again, if you believe you ARE the world, (as Americans demonstrably do), perhaps this is not so surprising . . .

A most excellent cartoon – it says so much a space so small!. Thank you DPF.
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February 4, 2009 7:09am
wikiriwhis business

Typical of the US press to claim not one swear word was heard at the POTUS viewing of the Superbowl.

That was never likely to happen. Really condescending reporting. Esp when children were present.

Plse US media, give people credit.
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February 4, 2009 8:11am
Richard Hurst

Komata- the temporary tariffs placed on NZ Lamb a few years ago were caused by product dumping by PPCS (Silverfern). Thankfully the tariffs were only temporary. Unfortunately some of the morons on the PPCS board at the time are still around in Silverfern.

As for Obama- It is no surprise that his overblown rhetoric doesn’t match his xenophobic protectionist reality. And what’s with tax dodging in his administration? Clearly Democrats hate paying taxes even more than Republicans!
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February 4, 2009 9:32am
PhilBest

grumpyoldhori (594) Vote: 2 1 Says:

February 3rd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
“Ratbiter, I will take that bet, a Falcon with a 351 Cleveland up against a Subaru Legacy on Bathurst.
Motors to be blue printed only.”

I gave Ratbiter a thumbs up for his comment; but I love GrumpyOldHori’s rejoinder, too.

I would say that a STANDARD Legacy RS would beat any STANDARD Falcon XR made the same year, around Bathurst; and would whip the ass off it around a tight track. And it would drink a whole lot less petrol in doing it.

But we’ve got way off topic. See next comment.
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February 4, 2009 11:22am
PhilBest

If the media’s op-ed writers and cartoonists are honest, there will be fertile ground for lampooning the difference between the Messianic expectations of Obama’s supporters, and the ugly pragmatism that is a necessity in real life. Mark Steyn alleges that Obama’s solution to closing Guantanamo is simply to “render” the captured terrorists to friendly dictatorships where they are “wanted”; like Syria.

I don’t disagree at all with that as a “solution”; in fact I like the idea of the terrorists getting the treatment they deserve, rather than the kid-glove stuff they get from the human rights obsessed Yanks. But it certainly would not match the high-flown ideals that were the basis for Obama’s supporters cheering him on when he promised to close Guantanamo. The reality is, that such a proportion of those already released from Guantanamo for lack of evidence or suchlike, have ended up back in action against the West; that to just let the rest go, either with or without a ludicrous civil trial in which liberal lawyers would have a field day; would be to go down in history as the President who let go the people who committed “the second attack” after Sept 11.
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February 4, 2009 11:30am

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