What if we......

[sonny]

Pulled our military out of every country.....stopped importing everything and anything from foriegn countries and relied only on ourselves from now on?
What kind of country do you think we would have?......this is not some kind of trick question.
I am asking people for their personal views on this..... Bad move?
......Good move?......Ridiculous?.........Too late? .......what political and social ramifications would follow a move like this?

On a lighter side what import products would you miss the most...assuming that american inginuity could not come up with an equal or better product if we HAD to?

 

[Chris Rhines]

I'm all for pulling our military out of every foreign country. The US military exists to defend this country against real and immediate threats of aggression, nothing more.

But why in the world would you want to stop trading with foreign countries? Free and open trade has been the single factor most responsible for the devlopment of civilization save for language. Why would you want to reverse that trend?

More to the point, what gives you the right to stop me from buying the goods of my choice from the domestic or foreign suppliers of my choice? Like most policy questions, this one has both an ethical and a practical component.

- Chris

 

[sonny]

Slow down Chris
I'm not suggesting we should ....the title say's it all ...what if we
Thanks for the quick response and you make a very good points.

 

[Chris Rhines]

Good thing!

I realise that I forgot to pontificate upon what the world would be like in a real society of military isolationism and economic globalism. Well, I suspect that not too much would be different. Hopefully there would be a large tax cut/increase in the real money supply, since we wouldn't be paying to maintain a zillion foreign military bases. The military would likely be much smaller, with a coresponding reduction in the size of the military industry. Conversely, many industries would note a large increase in size due to an influx of inexpensive, high-quality first- and second-tier mechanical and electronic parts. Computers would be cheaper and faster; ditto cars and trucks, heavy mechanical equipment, CAD/CAM tools, and many other products.

A ton of subsidized industries would either go under or restructure to become more efficent. Farmers, chief among them.

The mass transit industry would go nuts. An end to gov't subsidies combined with the opening of ports worldwide? I have no idea how that would shake out, but it would be different...

Many other things would happen, most of them good. I'll blather more later.

- Chris

 

[JPM70535]

I know it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I really wouldn't mind the U.S. reverting back to an isolationist nation.

While we all have grown used to cheap imported goods, this has been a two edged sword. The consumer may pay lower prices, but by not purchasing U.S. made products, we drive the Domestic producers of durable goods out of business, throwing U.S. citizens out of work so they can no longer afford to buy the cheaper imported goods. ( Any body see something wrong with this picture?)

The only winners in a free trade society are the third worlders who thanks to an economic base so low that their citizens can work for next to nothing, which encourages more U.S corporations to relocate their manufacturing facilities to these areas. How does this benefit our economy? I can't think of a single advantage we gain by continuing this madness.

Under a policy of isolationism, things would get worse for a period of time, but after Americans understood that they would have to produce what they consumed, the law of supply and demand would take over. U.S. companies would see that to sell here they would have to manufacture here, That would mean more jobs paying decent wages, allowing the now employed workers to purchase what they couldn't when they were unemployed.

Sorry I've rambled on for so long, but I really think we could have a better life at lower cost if we weren't supporting the rest of the world

 

[Standing Wolf]

On a lighter side what import products would you miss the most...assuming that american inginuity could not come up with an equal or better product if we HAD to?

Hondas and Nikons.

 

[SodaPop]

Would you feel safer if you just locked all your doors and put bars in the windows and never left the house?

 

[Beorn]

I hope you've read my "5-year-plan" post elsewhere on THR...

That says it all...