On 03/09/2011 1:30 PM, sf wrote:

> I know there's a delicate balance; but I want more government
> regulation not less. In the USA, "free market" just means "take it to
> China to be manufactured as cheaply as possible" and cheap doesn't
> just mean "inexpensive", it means "shoddy" too. So the big question
> for business in these virtually unregulated times of a "free market
> economy" is to figure out how shoddy a product they can get away with
> selling to the public or other businesses (which include our
> government& military) at a certain price point.
>

There are some advantages to opening markets and getting rid of
protectionism. The problem that we have seen is that, after North
Americans and Europeans worked hard to improve wages and working
conditions, and to improve environmental protection, company owners
moved their production to other countries to take advantage of cheaper
labour and less regulation.

Like you said, those products are not just less expensive to buy. They
are shoddily made. Appliances are cheaper to buy.... initially, but they
don't last. It is cheaper to replace them than to fix them, and we end
up spending more for the same amount of use.