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Originally Posted by Reckoner
Are you like Ron Paul or something? I'm sorry, but this way of thinking is downright outrageous.
How do you think the US got to be the superpower it is today? We sold Europe and and the rest of world over these last two centuries, a plethora of goods, and particularly during the World Wars, tons of weapons.
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Hmm, I don't have my books and resources at the moment, but I think your timeline is not 100% right.
The U.S., when it was still young, was more of a raw materials provider than a goods seller. It was still known as a backwater than an industrial power like, say, England. I seem to remember that it was a capital crime in England to export tech (related to steel making only?) outside of the country?
Pre-WWI, I would agree in that the U.S. began to industrialize, but that is more due to the needs of (1) Reconstruction, (2) immigration and (3) expansion, esp. to the West. Opportunities appeared, and people (Europeans with the know-how, brains and money and Americans with the smarts) took advantage.
After WWII is more of when the U.S. began to become more of a goods supplier and a "global powerhouse", IMHO.
In any case, I would not be surprised if at some time in the future, jobs removed in the U.S. due to outsourcing will return. In the mid/late 90's, I saw jobs going to places like Ireland. In the early 2000's, it was to places like Nova Scotia and India, which continued to the mid 00's while the jobs in Ireland went virtually stagnant at the same levels. Now, it's to China. The costs in China aren't as low as they were back then - although compared to parts of the U.S.'s, they are still cheaper and will likely stay that way for awhile. All personal observations, of course, but everything changes due to (1) countries' policies, (2) people's views and (3) companies' bottom lines.
Somali pirates attempt to attack Dutch warship
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Troops aboard the Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp fired warning shots Wednesday off the coast of East Africa as suspected Somali pirates in two small skiffs raced toward their warship, the EU Naval Force said.
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(1) Isn't this the 2nd time pirates tried to take a Dutch warship? (2) Did they really let the pirates (or wannabes) go? Weapons are cheap and very easy to get, so these guys are likely rearmed and searching within a couple of days or so, IMHO. At least confiscate their "mothership" for investigation for a few months...