The US Senate has advanced a bill to punish China for its alleged currency manipulation, a blow at a global economic rival 13 months before elections shaped by voter anger at high joblessness.Read the rest here.
The legislation - backed by Democrats and Republicans in the polarized Congress, but opposed by Beijing and potent US business groups - cleared a procedural hurdle by a 79-19 vote, with final passage expected this week.
The bill, which has divided the Republican presidential field and put the White House in a bind, sets the stage for retaliatory duties on Chinese goods if Beijing is found to keep its currency and thus its exports artificially cheap.
But the bill faces an uphill fight in the House, where Republican leaders have no plans to bring it up for a vote unless the issue flares up as a core dispute in the November 2012 presidential races, several aides said.
Anger Without a Cause
11 hours ago
3 comments:
How dare China sell us actual stuff for bits of green paper.
This is a red herring and a total diversionary tactic, but what else can we expect from politicians today? Trying to punish China for trying to protect their own economy is pure arrogance. Every country does this sort of currency devaluation and right now it's a race to the bottom worldwide. Maybe Congress should stop allowing themselves to be swayed by legalized bribery (aka lobbying and contributions) from US corporations that ship our US jobs overseas, just to increase their profit margin for their shareholders. If Congress truly cared about the American people, they would raise trade barriers, tear down NAFTA and WTO and keep US jobs at home. American people also need to find value in buying quality American products again, and not focusing on a disposable society of cheap garbage manufactured in the 3rd world. This is a complex, multi-faceted problem and that Congress thinks Americans are so dumb that they can have the wool pulled over their eyes by simplistic bills like this, is an insult to our intelligence.
It's not a complex problem. Consumers shouldn't be obstructed from buying stuff from whomever they wish at whatever price and in whatever currency they find attractive. It's really pretty simple. The only complex part is getting others to submit to the imposition of your personal preferences for "quality American" products.
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