jim rozen writes:

But wait - I thought it was a *global* enconomy. That we should
be enjoying the benefits of lower costs.

Modern economy *is* global. It's up to each country to what degree it
wants to participate openly in that global economy. The more open you
are to non-taxed imports from other countries, the lower the prices
you pay for goods will become.

Oh. Not for the consumers. Got it.

It's all about reallocation of money. You know, "stealing money out
of people's wallets to give it to others", as has been said here?
That's the *only* thing protectionism actually does: when a country
levies tariffs on imported goods, in order to "protect" its own
manufacturers, what actually happens is that money is taken from the
country's own consumers and given to those manufacturers. In the end,
it's always the consumer who foots the bill. All government schemes
that benefit someone reallocate money to those beneficiaries, and
wherever that money comes from, it will, in the end, be balanced out
by less money in the pocket of the average Joe.

That isn't to say that it should never be done. Our governments do
lots of wealth reallocation that we really want. We should just be
aware of who, in the end, pays. Next time you hear someone react to a
new tariff by saying "that'll teach them furriners!", you might want
to remind him that the price of the lesson comes out of *his* pocket.

-tih
--
Tom Ivar Helbekkmo, Senior System Administrator, EUnet Norway
www.eunet.no T: +47-22092958 M: +47-93013940 F: +47-22092901