"Now if your a poor country that's wanting to export a million dollars of footballs, your being forced to accept a million dollars worth of goods." I agree it doesn't make sense in today's society - and that's the = problem. The problem with trade is that we trade goods for money - and the people = who amass the money keep it. If you trade goods for goods, then the only way you can make money is to = sell them to people in your own country - you can't export them because = your be forced to buy more goods. If you want to sell the goods in your = own country, your going to have to make sure that your people want them, = and can afford them. This means you should pay them a decent wage in the = first place. We don't trade with poorer nations - we exploit them Take the football scenario. Big company wants a million footballs. They cost$10 in the USA to make = or $1 in country X So, you go to country X. You import them and sell them for $20 each. Owner of the company in country X gets his million bucks (less expenses, = materials etc) His workers get 10C for each item made and the big = company in the USA makes 19 million. But, if country X now has to buy a million worth of other goods, there = going to have to finance that somehow. The only way a government can get = money it to tax the people OR sell the goods to them that they were = forced to buy. You can't tax people who don't earn it so all they can do = is effectively introduce a minimum wage. Also, your left with all these = goods in your warehouse that you need to sell to the people (who can now = afford them IF there what they want since the minimum wage has been = introduced) Now the playing field is a bit more even. It might cost $10 in the USA = per item, but now it costs $6 in country X. Still a saving, but not = exploitation. The government in country X can afford to tax it's people higher, so it = can buy the goods. It can't afford to buy weapons or fund other = hostilities. =20 We end up in a situation where everybody's frantically buying goods from = everybody else and world peace arrives and nobody even notices. Ok, so there are a few kinks in the plan, but I've seen government = policy that had less thought and took a whole lot longer to dream up. -----Original Message----- From: Jim [mailto:jvpoll@DALLAS.NET] Sent: 05 June 2002 16:29 To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Subject: Re: [OT]: $1-a-day wages "Now if your a poor country that's wanting to export a million dollars of footballs, your being forced to accept a million dollars worth of goods." This line, as written, does not make sense. It may have to do with the misuse of a certain word, not once but twice, in place of a common contraction that actually represents the two words 'you are'. The only acceptable substitutes (in Texas) would be 'yer'. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Farr" To: Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2002 7:45 AM Subject: Re: [OT]: $1-a-day wages > It's funny how this subject stirs strong reactions in people. > > Lyle, well said ! > > Of course the question is 'why' are some of these countries in this = mess in the first place and how do they get out of it - and I say 'they' get = out and not us help them out. People are basically stupid (no disrespect to anybody reading this) and only learn from their own mistakes. They need = to implement a solution themselves if their to solve their problems. > Personally, I believe that these countries, and perhaps the rest of = the world are missing the point in the word 'trade'. > Trade - I give you something you want, and you give me something I = want. > It's worth is in how bad you want what I have, and how bad I want what you've got. > It would be interesting to see a system where you can't export goods unless you import goods of exactly the same value. If you want to sell = your million dollars of footballs to another country, you have to import a million dollars of goods from a country (not necessarily the same one = you sell to). > Local governments would make their whack on charging import duty on = items. > Now if your a poor country that's wanting to export a million dollars = of footballs, your being forced to accept a million dollars worth of goods. Those goods are going to end up with the people. Eventually, your going = to have to import what the people want else your going to be out of = government. > You set the value of the goods being imported and exported by their = street value and not their 'perceived worth' so there's no fiddling. > > But hey, I'm no economist - just a person who lives in a country where I've got plenty to eat and can spend my free time moaning about the = price of that new 60" TV I've got my eye on. > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu