WTF Is Arlen Specter’s Problem With China?

2010-02-04

President Obama went to a Q&A session with Senate Democrats yesterday (these are folks is his own political party). The very first question for the President was on China policy, asked by the senior Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter.

I have a two-part question, and just a brief statement of the issue. We have lost 2.3 million jobs as a result of the trade imbalance with China between 2001 and 2007. The remedies to save those jobs are very ineffective — long delays, proceedings before the International Trade Commission, subject to being overruled by the President.

OK, let's stop there. Specter identifies a problem, the trade imbalance. This is mostly due to very large structural economic issues related to China's currency regime, fixed asset investments, and export policy, not to mention the U.S. fiscal deficit.

But instead of recognizing this, Specter goes on to talk about bilateral dispute mechanisms. He calls these "remedies," implying that these procedures have been put into place to save jobs, and says that they are "ineffective." At bringing jobs back to the U.S.?

What an amazingly idiotic and dishonest bit of populist bullshit.
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