December 02, 2003
ALL RIGHT
Now: The Bush administration has decided to repeal most of its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel.
Australia wasn't massively harmed by US steel tariffs (we secured exemptions) but it's still good to see this government moving the right way on trade. Now for farming ...
Posted by Tim Blair at December 2, 2003 02:28 AMGood, now that most of our [U.S.] manufacturing industry is dead, we can concentrate on buying up all the foreign sweatshops that make the stuff we no longer do. We will switch from the breadbasket and manufacturing capital of the world to the role of leisure class owners. The world economy will be our puppet!
Posted by: Wallace at December 2, 2003 at 02:51 AM"Australia wasn't massively harmed by US steel tariffs..."
What a shame, given reports that their intentions were *punitive* and all.
Posted by: Emily at December 2, 2003 at 06:09 AMHow is it that none of the many farmers and ranchers I know don't get subsidies? That hardly seems fair...
Posted by: Ken Summers at December 2, 2003 at 06:35 AMAah, Ken, that's because you don't know any citrus growers down in Florida. Jeb takes care of them.
And Wallace, I hope you enjoy your leisure, and the thin air you'll be living on. I mean, all that U.S. capital being enthusiastically exported to Communist China, you don't think they'll pay U.S. taxes do you? Dubya will take care of that.
Ken, I agree that its not fair that every single farmer and rancher seems to have his hand in my pocket. At least, that's what your double negative says.
If you meant its not fair that some of your pals don't have their hands in my pocket, well, I have to disagree.
Posted by: R. C. Dean at December 2, 2003 at 09:15 AMJust wanted to say hi to Analogue Voter --- oops! I mean, "True Brit." Kisses!
Posted by: Andrea Harris at December 2, 2003 at 09:27 AM(PS: Analogue Voter used to troll this and other websites under that name. I guess he got tired of the nickname and chose a new one. The wonder of IP addresses.)
Posted by: Andrea Harris at December 2, 2003 at 09:32 AMAt first I thought 'True Brit' was joking and I'm still not entirly sure he's not. Still, his trolling is pretty dull, robotic stuff.
Bring back that german houswives guy, his tourette-like outbursts were great value.
Posted by: Amos at December 2, 2003 at 11:42 AMAndrea Harris, you shameless hussy - kisses indeed.
And good grief, are you STILL batting for China.
Posted by: True Brit at December 2, 2003 at 11:45 AMYep. We miss all those "high-paying manufacturing jobs" and that capital that goes overseas. I, personally, really, really miss all those hostler, livery stable, blacksmith, and buggy-whip manufacturing jobs, to say nothing of the horse-manure clean-up positions in New York City, which have dropped from thousands in 1895 to nearly none today.
However will we replace them? To say nothing of the millions of farm laborer jobs shed in the past two centuries. What will we do without all those guys raising crops?
Woe. Woe is us, I tell you.
Posted by: JorgXMcKie at December 2, 2003 at 03:25 PMBrit, I can't tell of you're serious or not. I hope not, for your sake.
R.C., do I actually have to put in the sarcasm tags now? Okay:
How is it that none of the many farmers and ranchers I know don't get subsidies? [sarcasm]That hardly seems fair...[/sarcasm]
It is true that none of the farmers/ranchers I know get subsidies. What I really do consider unfair, though, is having them tarred with the same brush. Subsidies go disproportionately to rich non-farmers:
"Among the landed gentry on the agriculture dole are 14 members of Congress, 15 Fortune 500 companies, and celebrities such as Sam Donaldson and Ted Turner. These mega-corporations and multi-millionaires will rake in as much as 160 times the median annual farm subsidy of $935."