China is probably the worst in a reasonably long line of state capapitalist countries going. Imagine harnessing all the power of exploitative warlords in the one seat of Government. Note that recent small protests in the west may well spread.
ps.
Heard anything of heightened tensions between China and India? Definetly one to watch.
Yeah, I heard about it -- by the border they share. A sliver of India is in historic Tibet and the Chinese Tibetan-killers think they should get it " back "
hmmm if a sliver of India is historical Tibet woudln't that mean Nepal is also claimed by the chicoms?
Chris, I'm a big fan of your blog, but your views on economics are flawed.
Raising taxes on cheap tires will only help unproductive union workers. This will come at the expense of poor people who can barely afford day-to-day living expenses as it is, let alone a new 35% tax on tires.
Sure, a 35% tax might save 5,000 jobs (which I highly doubt) but it could destroy 6,000+ jobs by depriving the private sector of the capital it needs to create real, productive jobs.
A trade war in the midst of a global recession is the last thing us Americans need right now.
I agree with Kyle.
Protectionism protects favoured domestic interests (in this case - tyre producers - not only workers but the business owners too) over the interests of other non-protected domestic interests (in this case it directly adversally affects private motorists and hauliers). If a motorist has to pay more for their tyres - that's less money that can be spent on other goods and services in the economy (e.g. they may change their tyres less often to the detriment of the mechanic, and mechanics in border regions will find they have to cut other costs - i.e. wages - to stay competitive with those not paying the import tax across the border). Worse, consumers may just purchase inferior lower-cost tyres leading to more serious accidents on the roads.
Often imports are used as components in exports - raising taxes on imported goods can have the effect of making your exports less competitive. You end up protecting some businesses at the expense not only of more job losses elsewhere but the standard of living of your citizens. Trade is a good thing.
Thing is, though, it's going to come as a big surprise to you when Congress raises tariffs against Irish (or EU) products, too, and kicks off the sort of tit-for-tat protectionism that pushed the world over the brink into a depression at the end of the 1920s. This sort of thing is really in nobody's interests. It can't have escaped your notice that Ireland is far better off in 2009 than it was in 1969, and being part of a trade bloc where the only barrier is comparing prices denominated in a common currency is the principal reason.
I'm a convinced lefty like you, but I don't think starting the next depression is really going to help out the workers in Shanghai or the the people of Tibet to any great extent. All it's going to do is make the average Yankee dig deeper to enrich Walmart.
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