(08-27-2018 03:04 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 02:48 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 02:27 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  The two changes I've seen so far seem like the kind of thing that would help American workers in those specific industries but cost american consumers. However, only looking at those things in isolation doesn't tell you much about a deal that is sure to be fairly comprehensive (and my guess is fairly close to NAFTA in its actual framework).

I look at it this way, is a car made in Mexico, cheaper than the one made in America? I dont think so, so any increase in wages will be sucked up by someone but the consumer. If not more American made cars will be sold.

Unless there's conclusion between manufactures to increase prices across the board there will not be a huge (if any) price increase. No matter what it cost to produce in Mexico it's not going to hurt the finial cost to us. Not if the products (like cars) are already being made in America.

Now if something not being made here then it might be a price increase. But even then with the Internet and the ability to buy direct no full cost of increase will be passed on to the consumer. The companies that have got by for years on that cheap labor will be eating that cost. Or most of it.

This seems at odds with economics and the premise for which conservatives have based their economic theory upon. Increased regulation adds cost somewhere. If you are going to add a minimum wage / tariffs where minimum wage is not reached, that cost is going somewhere. We can live in fantasy land where we can add regulations to help specific groups and those regulations have no economic cost, but its frankly amazing to see in one breath conservatives argue that regulation is a burden and in the same breath argue new regulation on trade is only positive.

BTW not commenting one way or another right now on whether this is good policy or not. I'd like to see the entirety of the deal not a cherry picked couple key points before saying the deal is bad/good. However, the idea that there is no economic cost to tariffs/minimum wage requirements is silly. There will be a cost somewhere with these specific regulations, my guess is it will be on consumers. How much of a cost? is the cost worth it? Is the cost offset by other benefits of the deal? These are decisions you will have to make for yourself, but it is amazing to me that Cult of Trump has convinced Republicans to act like Dick Gephard democrats in believing these regulations are all upside no downside.

You're correct. Don't you think that Trump looks an awful lot like union style Democrat of the 80s? We're in a mixed up political landscape where the GOP looks more like the party of the middle class while the Dems look like the party of investment banks and lawyers with a huge component of SJW and socialists.