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Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: High Duties => Increased Competitiveness?
Message-ID: <420@looking.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Sep-85 13:05:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: looking.420
Posted: Wed Sep 18 13:05:15 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Sep-85 04:45:55 EDT
References: <1394@utcsri.UUCP> <2188@mnetor.UUCP> <1395@utcsri.UUCP> <2197@mnetor.UUCP> <1397@utcsri.UUCP> <5977@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 31
Summary: 

So, do all the opponents of free trade like the way they live in Japan?
Is this why you keep bringing up Japanese society as an argument against
free trade?

Have you ever considered what it would be like if Japanese goods came into
North America duty free?  There is a reason there was fear in Henry Ford's
eyes.

But seriously, folks, we have heard some of you attack free trade, let's
see you analyse what happens when a duty is put on and why you think it's
good *for the country* as you like to put it.

Let's slap a duty on shoes, for example.  First result is some Canadian
shoe makers get nice and rich, and in the short term there are more jobs
in the shoe industry.  And this means more votes from shoe makers.

Second thing that happens is that *every* Canadian pays a few dollars more
for shoes.  How much in total?  Well the extra paid is at least equal to
the gain obtained by the shoe makers.   So a large sum of money is taken
from one sector (the rest of Canada) and given to a proven non-productive
sector.  Of course, when a large sum of money is taken away, it means jobs
are lost.  In fact, at least as many as were saved in the shoe industry!

Of course, this is spread over the whole country, so nobody blames their
lack of a job on the "extra" job that was propped up in the shoe industry,
so no votes are lost.


Now I see why duties are such a good idea!!
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473