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GE moving X-ray business to China

What would that entail? Shutting the government down for 5 years? Kicking everybody off of SS and medicare/medicaid?

Or you can do what other countries have done in similar situations. The response needn't be too extreme.

And by the way, Americans were living very well, enjoying the highest standard of living in the world in fact, long before Medicare and Medicaid came along. Now the people have become so dependent on these programs that they feel they can't function without them. You really went all the way with LBJ. Downhill that is.
 
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You should mind your own damn business. We didn't need to prove we weren't racist. There was no way a republican was going to get elected in that economy. A democrat was going to be elected. It just happened that Obama, a black guy, won the nomination. If Hillary won, would you be saying it was about sexism then?

Obama won because he was Black. Do you know of any other possible explanation why he would get the nomination or be elected?
 
Or you can do what other countries have done in similar situations. The response needn't be too extreme.

And by the way, Americans were living very well, enjoying the highest standard of living in the world in fact, long before Medicare and Medicaid came along. Now the people have become so dependent on these programs that they feel they can't function without them. You really went all the way with LBJ. Downhill that is.

According to this we come in at #4

  1. 22px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png
    Norway 0.938
  2. 22px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png
    Australia 0.937
  3. 22px-Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg.png
    New Zealand 0.907
  4. 22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png
    United States 0.902
List of countries by Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Wal-Mart's central business model is a discount superstore. It aims to offer its consumers the lowest prices and, to a very large extent, succeeds in achieving that goal. To have a chance to realize that goal, it needs to minimize its costs through economies of scale, low overhead, low-cost products. American suppliers have not been able to compete with numerous international suppliers. Hence, it makes sense for Wal-Mart to leverage its global reach to obtain the lowest price goods.

High-end retailers have the luxury to compete on differentiation. Differentiation allows them to pass on higher costs to their customer base so long as customers value differentiation to the extent that they are willing to pay for it. Not every customer takes that approach. Otherwise, the discount superstore model would not be viable.

Your response isn't really a response to my post. I was saying, studies say that say Wal Mart contributes to the trade deficit, yes, they save a lot of money by taking advantage of foreign markets and economies of scale... but that doesn't address what I said.
 
What would that entail? Shutting the government down for 5 years? Kicking everybody off of SS and medicare/medicaid?

Getting out of Libya, Iran and Afghanistan?
 
IMO, a transformational leader could boost American morale and psychology. However, the comparative advantages that underlie patterns of trade are not solely a function of Presidential leadership or public policy. They depend on big factors such as technological evolution, demographics/workforce productivity, etc., that are largely outside the ability of the President or public policy to truly influence. Policy investments that could yield dividends down the road would concern dramatic improvements in the nation's education system, a credible energy policy that creates incentives for the nation to become a leader in emerging energy sources, etc. A transformational leader could increase prospects for such policy approaches. Unfortunately, such leaders are not common. Few leaders have the capability to truly align public support to the extent that FDR, JFK, and Reagan did. IMO, neither the President nor the Congressional leaders (Reid, McConnell, Boehner, Pelosi) fit the bill of transformational leaders. Amidst the current Republican field, it does not appear that there are any transformational leaders, either. At the State level, it is too early to tell, but both Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie have displayed some traits of transformational leadership, but their tenure to date is too short to draw any firm conclusions as to whether they actually are transformational leaders.

A lot of people hate Reagan, and a lot of people hate FDR.. with the way this country is today, neither of them would have a chance at getting anything passed. The extremes of both parties would rather undo everything those two did, than work with somebody like them.
 
George Bush might have many faults but he never used race in order to gain votes and never attacked any segment of American society.

I don't think Obama ever used his race to gain votes... and Bush did attack a lot of people. He attacked anybody against the war and said they weren't patriots and were being anti American. There hasn't been a perfect president in my lifetime. This conversation can go back and forth all day long.
 
Or you can do what other countries have done in similar situations. The response needn't be too extreme.

And by the way, Americans were living very well, enjoying the highest standard of living in the world in fact, long before Medicare and Medicaid came along. Now the people have become so dependent on these programs that they feel they can't function without them. You really went all the way with LBJ. Downhill that is.

:roll: Again, mind your own business. Every sovereign country has the right to decide what is best for them, and in their best intersts. Worry about your country, and we'll worry about ours.
 
America was built up through tariffs on foreign goods

Trade: Chapter 20-3: US Tariff Policy: Historical Notes


20img5.gif


Except for a period of time in the 1920's and post WW2 tariffs in the US were a mainstay of federal government income, and helped ensure US domestic industries developed during the 1800

Of course we could get away with that after WWII; we were the only industrialized country in the world that didn't have its factories destroyed. And the world was a very different place in the 19th century. There were virtually no labor laws, for example.
 
Obama won because he was Black. Do you know of any other possible explanation why he would get the nomination or be elected?

Yeah, I can think of a number of reasons:

* people liked the policies he was promoting;
* he had national experience in the Senate and state experience in the Illinois legislature;
* he's smart (double ivy league degrees, president of law review, magna from Harvard Law);
* he's well spoken;
* he was a constitutional law professor;
* he won or was competitive in most of the debates.
 
Obama won because he was Black. Do you know of any other possible explanation why he would get the nomination or be elected?

Because the economy was bad and a republican was an incumbent
Because Obama ran a better campaign
Because Obama's campaign made the election about a referadum on GWB
Because McCain's campaign made the election about fear and you can't trust him, he isn't one of us
Because Hillary had more baggage than him being Obama was new on the scene
Because Obama ran a better campaign and didn't look erratic like McCain
Because Obama ran on hope and change, and McCain ran on experienced politician and DC insider
Because Obama beat Hillary, and she also ran on experience and being a DC insider
Because Palin wasn't his VP
 
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I don't think Obama ever used his race to gain votes... and Bush did attack a lot of people. He attacked anybody against the war and said they weren't patriots and were being anti American. There hasn't been a perfect president in my lifetime. This conversation can go back and forth all day long.

It won't go on very long at all if you use actual quotes.

‪Barack Obama - GOP: "Did I Mention He's Black"‬‏ - YouTube

I take it you have no similar quotes about George Bush nor any statements from him that would promote class warfare.
 
Of course other nations could boycott American goods and services also but a trade war has never done anyone much good.

Seems to me if nations around the world were buying as many American products as Americans were buying foreign products, it would be a horse a piece and we wouldn't be having this discussion.
 
Because the economy was bad and a republican was an incumbent
Because Obama ran a better campaign
Because Obama's campaign made the election about a referadum on GWB
Because McCain's campaign made the election about fear and you can't trust him, he isn't one of us
Because Hillary had more baggage than him being Obama was new on the scene
Because Obama ran a better campaign and didn't look erratic like McCain
Because Obama ran on hope and change, and McCain ran on experienced politician and DC insider
Because Obama beat Hillary, and she also ran on experience and being a DC insider
Because Palin wasn't his VP

This guy had no substantial experience whatsoever and, like every politician before and since, ran on the cliched hope and change.

Now the American people are paying for it.

You are simply looking for excuses on why anyone would vote for a person with no real experience whatsoever. Geraldine Ferraro was right.

‪Geraldine Ferraro - If Obama Was A White Man...‬‏ - YouTube
 
I think he'll have more experience next term. :mrgreen:
 
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/07
/26/ge_moving_x_ray_business_to_china/


Ge who made 15 billion in profits and paid NO TAXS...so much for tax cuts create jobs....like I said...they create jobs in CHINA....

This is the best example that we have lost our way. China is not playing the same game we are. They want to win and take all of the winnings with them.
 
It won't go on very long at all if you use actual quotes.

‪Barack Obama - GOP: "Did I Mention He's Black"‬‏ - YouTube

I take it you have no similar quotes about George Bush nor any statements from him that would promote class warfare.

I wouldn't consider that the race card... maybe a bad joke, but it's not like he got up in front of the people and played a victim of racism, even though he could have. There was racism coming out in America because he was running, and the only time he came out and directly talked about his race and racism, was because he had to after the Wright scandal and that was Fox News's doing of course. I do think that that network didn't want him to win, and they did accuse him of being racist, so it would make people feel uncomfortable about him. Beck eventually lost his job because of his extreme statements... The network also had to apologize for making comments like "terrorist fist jab" and "baby's momma."

As for GWB he said the constitution was just a piece of paper, yet the right says Obama hates the constitution. As I said, the country is divided. A new president isn't going to fix it.
 
This guy had no substantial experience whatsoever and, like every politician before and since, ran on the cliched hope and change.

Now the American people are paying for it.

You are simply looking for excuses on why anyone would vote for a person with no real experience whatsoever. Geraldine Ferraro was right.

‪Geraldine Ferraro - If Obama Was A White Man...‬‏ - YouTube

A lot of first presidents had no experience, but they still managed to create the foundation of a country that lasted. And who are you to say we are paying the price? This nations government is dysfunctional as hell, we would have paid if we elected McCain/Palin being they are both a neocons like GWB and once supported invading Iran. As I said before, we're a sovereign country and that's up for us to decide what's best for us.
 
Your response isn't really a response to my post. I was saying, studies say that say Wal Mart contributes to the trade deficit, yes, they save a lot of money by taking advantage of foreign markets and economies of scale... but that doesn't address what I said.

My point is that Wal-Mart's impact is not a negative. Although it contributes to the trade deficit, a focus strictly on its trade balance impact is overly narrower. A more complete analysis cannot ignore the savings it provides consumers on account of leveraging its global reach. Were there no Wal-Mart, consumer welfare would be harmed on account of higher prices. If American suppliers wish to do business with Wal-Mart, they need to offer their goods at prices that are world-competitive, and some do. Otherwise, Wal-Mart's business model would be compromised.
 
A lot of people hate Reagan, and a lot of people hate FDR.. with the way this country is today, neither of them would have a chance at getting anything passed. The extremes of both parties would rather undo everything those two did, than work with somebody like them.

I fully realize it. However, during their time in office, they accomplished much of what they sought to achieve, even as they pursued policies that were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. More than likely, if the nation is to meet its big challenges, it will need a transformational leader who has the ability to align public support behind the policy framework necessary to address those challenges. The messy process concerning raising the debt ceiling (a necessity to avoid a self-inflicted crisis) and inability to launch a credible fiscal consolidation program to begin tackling the nation's medium- and long-term imbalances reflects the limits of today's leaders. They may be relatively skillful managers and truly desire to reach a grand bargain, but they do not have the full range of attributes that make transformational leaders exceptional in carrying out big change.
 
My point is that Wal-Mart's impact is not a negative. Although it contributes to the trade deficit, a focus strictly on its trade balance impact is overly narrower. A more complete analysis cannot ignore the savings it provides consumers on account of leveraging its global reach. Were there no Wal-Mart, consumer welfare would be harmed on account of higher prices. If American suppliers wish to do business with Wal-Mart, they need to offer their goods at prices that are world-competitive, and some do. Otherwise, Wal-Mart's business model would be compromised.

Wal mart's prices aren't really that much lower than Targets, Costcos, or even small business suppliers that I order from on Amazon.com, and they aren't contributing as much to the trade deficit as Wal Mart. The little guys on Amazon are probably not even contributing to the trade deficit at all.

You were acting like the only companies Wal Mart competes with are luxury, high end companies.
 
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I fully realize it. However, during their time in office, they accomplished much of what they sought to achieve, even as they pursued policies that were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. More than likely, if the nation is to meet its big challenges, it will need a transformational leader who has the ability to align public support behind the policy framework necessary to address those challenges. The messy process concerning raising the debt ceiling (a necessity to avoid a self-inflicted crisis) and inability to launch a credible fiscal consolidation program to begin tackling the nation's medium- and long-term imbalances reflects the limits of today's leaders. They may be relatively skillful managers and truly desire to reach a grand bargain, but they do not have the full range of attributes that make transformational leaders exceptional in carrying out big change.

Reagan and FDR didn't have the 24 hour news networks pushing hyper partisan rhetoric on people either... I am not as optimistic as you.
 
This is why I am against outsourcing. Free trade just allows everyone to trade jobs and manufacturing to China.

The whole free trade movement was masked as a helping hand to countries struggling economically.... it can be argued that yes, it has helped them, but not without feeding our own corporations' greed first. Free trade was America's way of exploiting laborers in other countries for next to nothing while simultaneously forcing our products on them and nearly eliminating their meager profits from exports they once had.
 
Reagan and FDR didn't have the 24 hour news networks pushing hyper partisan rhetoric on people either... I am not as optimistic as you.

To be clear, I am not suggesting any guaranteed outcome. I am suggesting that a transformational leader might offer the best prospect of assuring a good outcome. The current leaders are inadequate for the task at hand.
 
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