Why we must end free trade.

Opinion...................  Why we must end so-called "Free Trade."

Let me start by saying that I am an American Nationalist. I wish other nations well but my motto is "America First" and looked at from that view, so called free trade is bad for today's America. We have millions out of work and yet we buy goods from across the sea?

We have tens of thousands of people in jail, some of whom might well be honest, if they had a good job. We pay billions for oil when we have our own here.

Are we insane???

History (You knew that was coming) of free trade.

Europe was destroyed in two World Wars, they needed food and weapons and price was no object and America was the only place that they could get them. When you are about to be conquered and enslaved, you don't worry about the price of weapons or bullets so 500 years of wealth flowed into America. The world was on the gold standard and the rate was $35 for an oz of gold(1). The factories of Europe and Asia were blown to bits. So between 1945 and 1965 almost every thing had to be made here. The Factories were booming everyone who wanted a job had a job and the jobs paid well.

We owned the Earth. So free trade was good for us.

Now?

Europe and Asia had to rebuild and did so with newer factories, investments that were paid for by American business. Factories in Asia and Europe went off the gold standard and devalued their money with the result of a flood of cheap TV...cars...toys...tool...etc. Swamping the American market.  Over time the American factories went out of business and than the price of overseas goods started to rise.

This has to change.  We must have tariffs.

This will NOT be easy.

Those factories in China and Mexico and Japan are owned in part by American banks and the Unions for some reason favor free trade. The Greens hate oil and coal and the pols and Profs are mad for international trade.

Yet, if you want a future, change it must.

(1) The bit about gold is important. When we were all on the gold standard, everyone knew the value of the money and it was very hard to cheat. Once nations went off  gold and started to rely on paper, we went off in 72, the value of money was what the local business people,  banks, or  pols said it was worth.
If you can  make and sell a car for 5000 and the other guy whose money has a higher value HAS to charge 10,000  and you can continue that  long enough, the other guy goes out of business and THAN you own the market and raise the price. This is hard on the people working for you as THEY get paid in cheap money and cannot buy the things they make, but the pols and Business people and Banks? They have their money in gold or dollars and make out very well. This is one reason the factory workers in China are jumping out of windows.  The Germans used a variation of this to pay back the allies with worthless marks in 1921.