Prices went up

[nobbie48]

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Protectionism, IMO, is only viable as a tool to offset unfair trading practices. In a free market economy, protectionism forces the protected further from sustainability and punishes consumers by redistributing their money to a lucky few.

Capitalism requires innovation, investments, and competition to keep the richest from accumulating all the wealth -- as soon as you protect a group, those protected get richer and the poor get poorer.

The downside of the loss of the jobs is that we also lose the skills at home. Once we are reliant on the foreign suppliers we lose the ability to restart our factories if they cut us off.

Who makes shirts in North America anymore?

 

[Mad Mike]

Free market economy?

Nobody said we have a free market economy -- there are no free market economies in the developed world.

We have a mixed market economy as does the USA, and most of the developed world.

Russia, while technically is a Mixed Market too, is moves between Mixed, Command, and State-Capitalist economies at the whims of the Kremlin.

When is this gonna start?

Not in our lifetime. A true free market is dog-eat-dog - everyone is on their own.

We live in a free market economy just like Russia is a communist economy.
Our free market economy is NOT free.

Our economy has free market principles at it's core - private ownership, competition, profit-driven, and ample consumer choice. You're never getting gov out of regulating monetary policy, safety, defence, environment or education, nor are they going to eliminate all social safety nets.

Tesla would not exist without government subsidy. The auto industry, on a whole, would not exist. The oil and gas industry would not exist. The monopoly of Canadian food distribution would not exist. The monopoly of telecommunications in Canada would not exist. Marketing boards aren't FREE economy. Tarrifs are not FREE economy.

Some of this is debatable. In a free market Tesla would be a good bet for success on their own. The auto industry, as a whole, would have flourished in free market (as it did till it became heavily regulated in 70s). Oil and gas has flourished my moving it closer to a free market (Drill baby, Drill). Food distribution in Canada are oligopolies, not monopolies.

You are correct that marketing boards are not free market.

Tarrifs are debatable -- used for protectionism they are not, used for leveling the playing field against unfair trade practices -- they are.

Keep drinkin the koolaid
"Socialism" is government FOR the people... I don't what to call what we're doing, but it is socialism for business... that is of course if your business has enough money to buy the appropriate politician (s)
You can call what we're doing "free market economy" but you're an idiot if you think it's true.
The Russians have a saying for this: Vranyo... basically: You know it's a lie, I know it's a lie... BUT you're saying it anyway.

The west is NOT a free market economy.

Agreed. The billion or so people living in 'the west' will agree with you too.

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