My current idea how to rebuild the U.S. economy is to increase taxes on foreign goods while equally decreasing taxes on home made ones and exported goods, giving companies an reason to bring their factories back to the U.S.. Furthermore, to avoid any trade war in this process I would only do it in slight increments such that most would not notice it. Which means it would take time to see any results but the results would be worth it in the end. In addition, to this I would decrease corporate fines on production related issues, but promote improvement on those issues through tax breaks. Another part of this idea consist of the prison reform that I stated in another thread, which would only cause more factories to return to the U.S. as well as give the prisoners to have jobs after they get out of prison. The last part of this idea of mine is to cut foreign aid to many countries, that do no trading with the U.S., these countries would most likely include Pakistan, Iraq etc. Now while sounding simple this plan will end up being fairly complex in its overall execution.
Do not tax foreign goods, it never works and puts us at a disadvantage in the global economy. The solution is simple and works every time... the Government simply has to spend more money. All our problems would be fixed with a $1-2 trillion stimulus.
The economy is consumer driven... think of it as an 'economic democracy' TM Myself, for example, have a few thousand dollars saved up. Buy a car? Already have one, but maybe in a couple years. Buy a house? Once I find out where I wanna live PERMANENTLY (anyone know of any jobs in Savannah GA, Montana, Wyoming, or Charleston SC?). Pay off my student loans? Nah, I like monthly. I'll buy a product. But (*)(*)(*)(*), give me something WORTH buying. I'm a musician - I'd buy a nice acoustic guitar (Martins might be too much ... ..), or recording and producing equipment. I would like to work and travel, how about a nice work-friendly laptop? (If only microsoft made their own...) I need clothes, but I never find my own style I prefer. I don't think I'm the only one. Americans are READY to spend. If we buy consumables, we want a (*)(*)(*)(*) good investment. if I saw a great product for $400-$500, I'd buy it. But I haven't seen anything worth buying lately. seriously. Let's get innovative! Let's create reasons to spend money!
It won't really effect the U.S. the U.S. supplies much of the worlds food as well as many of the world resources. Doing anything of the such would only cripple their economies more than the U.S.. For example, China gets most of the steel and other goods it needs to produce goods from the U.S., China is nothing more than a middle man, it takes U.S. resources, makes them into goods, and sells them back to the U.S.. And that isn't even starting with the China and the large amount of frauds it comminutes and gets away with. So retaliatory tariffs would only cripple their own economy more.
The US has a great deal to lose in a trade war. The US is the world's No. 3 exporter. If you go applying protectionist tariffs on other nations' stuff, how brain-dead do you have to be to not expect retaliatory tariffs placed on US stuff? That is exactly what happened as a result of Smoot-Hawley. The resulting trade war drove the worldwide depression to its nadir in 1931. If you are not willing to drastically cut regulation, you simply are not serious about industrial revitalization. At this point I'd would concur with a complete zeroing out of foreign aid.
The depression was a direct result of people spending money that they did not have, sounds kind of familiar doesn't it, 2008ish.
