What does a wise plumber have to do with King Solomon and Fair Trade?
King Solomon
The beginning of strife is seepage of water; so desist before the quarrel erupts. (Proverb 17:14)
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water,…. As when a man makes a little hole in the bank of a river, or cuts a small passage in it, to let the water into an adjoining field; by the force of the water, the passage is widened, and it flows in, in great abundance, to the overflow and prejudice of the field; nor is it easily stopped: so a single word, spoken in anger, with some warmth, or in a way of contradiction, has been the beginning and occasion of great strife and contention. (Gils Commentary)
A Wise Plumber
If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.
Meaning if something is working adequately well, leave it alone.
What Is My Point
I chose these two wise sayings to relate to the subject of fair trade and trade deficits.
The first proverb is advice not to delay fixing a leaking pipe or it could turn out to be a big problem in time. (If free trade agreements don’t work, how long will it take the plumbers in Congress to fix the agreements they approved?)
The second is advice from a wise plumber who knows from experience that If a water pipe is working, leave the pipes alone. (If free trade agreements work, lets leave them alone.)
So What Is Leaking?
If we consider the statement made by WTO, World Trade Organization. that trade deficits are harmful to a trade partner, in the same contexts os a leaking pipe causing damage, when would you call a plumber to fix the problem. In my opinion, what is leaking though is not water, it is livable wage manufacturing jobs being outsourced. Instead of water, it is US dollars as evidenced by the trade deficit balances .
How Long Has it Been Leaking
In 1993, Bill Clinton approved the NAFTA Trade Agreement and subsequent free trade agreements followed. Not one trade agreement includes any contingencies to control trade imbalances as recommended by the WTO model trade agreement.
Bush made more free agreements in his term as President without any contingencies..
President Obama promised to renegotiate all agreements when he campaigned during his first term as President and never did. Instead he negotiated the South Korean Agreement without any contingencies which has resulted in additional trade imbalances to the USA.
Twenty two years later the total amount of US trade deficits is minus nine trillion US dollars. $ (9,083,476,000) HERE
Questions to Ponder
Are our present free trade agreements broken? Is there any strife now erupting in our present elections in regards to this subject being brought up by both Trump and Sanders? If so, how much longer will it take our comatose Congress to fix the twenty-two year continuing widening force of the outflow of US livable wage manufacturing jobs from the USA? What reasons why Congress is so fearful of fixing the broken pipe on fair trade?
In My Next Post
I will explore some “what ifs” of the NINE TRILLION DOLLARS trade deficits. Not to look back in folly of what could have been, but to the following statement of why history is relevant.
In order to make sense of current affairs it is important to study the past, as everything which is happening around us has been influenced by, and is a direct result of, that which proceeded it. In this way, the study of History is explicitly relevant to us.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
PS
If you are interested in reading a brief discussion of opposing views on free trade, check out this NY Times discussion. HERE
Precious Posts
Post One HERE
Post Two HERE
Post Three HERE
Post Four HERE
Post Five HERE
Post Six HERE
Post Seven HERE
Post Eight HERE
Post Nine HERE
Post Ten HERE
Post Eleven HERE
Post Twelve HERE
Post Thirteen HERE
Post Fourteen HERE
Post Fifteen HERE
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