Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yuptag, I’m among the proponents of the global trade policy described within Wikipedia’s “Import Certificates” article. It excludes the values of mineral materials integral to globally traded goods that are deemed by the congress to be scarce or precious minerals, from the assessed values of goods; (i.e. the policy does not affect prices or global trade due to the values of such scarce or precious materials within shipments).
Excluding the values of such materials, the policy prevents the values of USA’s annual imports from exceeding our exports and its entire costs are passed on to USA purchasers of imported goods. The unilateral trade policy is substantially (but not entirely) market driven.
To the extent that price increases exceed fees to defray costs of federal assessing and administrative tasks, those price increases (at no additional cost to anyone else), serve as price subsidies for USA’s exported goods.
Markets continue to determine what goods USA imports or exports.
Refer to Wikipedia’s “Import Certificates” article.
Switching to domestic production of raw materials and manufactured goods would trigger hyperinflation and completely wreck the economy. I have my work boots made to order in the US, and each pair runs me about $350. If I were buying them in retail channels rather than directly from the cobbler, they would cost twice that. $700 for a pair of boots would be out of reach for many people. They particularly rely on cheap and shoddy footwear for children, because they child will outgrow the shoe before it wears out. Gasoline would cost $15/gallon. For all the hype about permian shale, actually getting the oil out of most of it would require strip mining several states.
If you want to bring manufacturing back to the US it would require bootstrapping whole industries. Who do we have left who knows how to make a camera, and the camera sensors, and the servo motors that do the auto focusing? Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have invested billions of dollars in research to learn how to make those things.
Maybe we shouldn't have $40 throwaway boots at mass retailers. I am sure your made to order boots would outlast cheap import boots. With the internet, a small retailer being accessible to the masses would be no problem.
Kona already costs that much and more, and Puerto Rico exports very little coffee while importing about two-thirds of what the island itself consumes.
By the way, pineapple production in Hawaii today is not at all what it once was. If not for a growing market for actual fresh pineapples, the culture might well have disappeared from the islands entirely.
I remember seeing that at one point about Hawaii's decreased Pineapple output. Been that way several years as I recall. As far as PR and coffee, I had not heard that, but I also never before heard they were a coffee producer either. Another poster mentioned they were.
Maybe that's where the coffee comes from when I buy the cheap no-label generic brand at the store .
We also can be a net exporter of energy. We have tremendous natural gas, oil, and coal resources, and finding more every day. We have centuries of fossil fuel. However, the cost of doing business in the U.S. has become to high too manufacture a lot of consumer goods we get elsewhere. Wage rates, health care, regulations, taxes, etc all combine to make us uncompetitive in the world market. Yes we'd have hyper inflation if we stopped imports.
Iran has one viable export. One of the arguments for their nuclear power ambitions is that they have to stop burning oil so they can trade more of it abroad for all the things they lack.
Maybe we shouldn't have $40 throwaway boots at mass retailers. I am sure your made to order boots would outlast cheap import boots. With the internet, a small retailer being accessible to the masses would be no problem.
Yeah, that would be awesome for parents, whose kids outgrow their shoes every 6 months. Most people also have many pairs of shoes. If I am in a wedding and I need pink dress shoes to match the dress, I'm to go to a cobbler? If I need a new pair of sneaks, go to the cobbler?
People can get boots made in America now, most can't afford them. I think if we banned imports, there would be plenty of black markets springing up to get people what they want. Then what, we put people in jail for buying black market shoes, like they bought drugs?
IMO there would be no way to do this without the government becoming a complete autocracy versus a democracy, and we all know that would never happen...oh, wait, never mind.
Prosperity is based on prodigious production of surplus usable goods and services, equitably trading them, and enjoying the results.
Doing more with less so more can enjoy is superior to doing less with more so few can enjoy.
Anything that interferes with prosperity will inevitably cause inequity, injustice, poverty and unrest.
Would it be possible for the USA to be self-sufficient or become self-sufficient in the next 5-10 years for the following 30-50 years in all major aspects: food, fuel, medicine, metals, manufacturing.
Seems that the USA could: plenty of agricultural land and fishing grounds; plenty of petroleum, plenty of land of solar, wind power, coastline for wave power; best medical research and medicine production. Missing low value-added manufacturing, but it seems we could revive that in 5-10 years, plenty of iron ore and incentive to recycle.
I think there are few countries that are blessed to have enough skilled people, large enough population, and enough natural resources.
Not remaining as prosperous as it is. I assume you are referring to economics only, and not about humanity and the world and our place in it, or the caring for others, or having friends and allies.
I don't think it's possible to be totally isolationist and remain prosperous. The world has an economy, of which we are part. The businesses will suffer if they can't export to other countries, as well as import things they need from other countries.
I also don't think we would want to be totally isolationist. Why would we want to?
We also can be a net exporter of energy. We have tremendous natural gas, oil, and coal resources, and finding more every day. We have centuries of fossil fuel. However, the cost of doing business in the U.S. has become to high too manufacture a lot of consumer goods we get elsewhere. Wage rates, health care, regulations, taxes, etc all combine to make us uncompetitive in the world market. Yes we'd have hyper inflation if we stopped imports.
Cost push inflation, not hyper. We had oil related cost push inflation in the '70's. Not fun, but survivable. Hyper suggests devalued currency and a then a spiral down the tubes...
I also don't think we would want to be totally isolationist. Why would we want to?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
IMO there would be no way to do this without the government becoming a complete autocracy versus a democracy, and we all know that would never happen...oh, wait, never mind.
Like during WW2. We might not necessarily want to be isolated, but if necessary we could do it all with a strong enough national desire like war. Gov't would have to become more overbearing in the economy. Directing more business, rationing and price controls and such like WW2.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
