Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Pruitt: Hero or Villain

20 comments:

Sean said...

How is this even a question?

John said...

I think it is a pretty valid question...

We have made it so expensive to do some business in the USA that the jobs have moved to less environmentally obsessed countries for better or worse.

Now I support clean air and water, but how clean is clean enough?

And at what cost to the American workers?

A good example is the resistance to the new pipeline and the new copper nickel mine in Northern MN...

Sean said...

"I think it is a pretty valid question..."

It really shouldn't be. Surely, there's got to be someone willing to gut environmental protections who is not an abject crook. Right?

Anonymous said...

He is the dark side of the American dream. He represents what is worst in all of us. future generations will look back at these times for a lesson as to how fragile our social contract is, how limited the decency of American people can be. The most Pruitt can aspire for is to be a footnote.

--Hiram

John said...

Okay... I agree with you that his self serving nature was not acceptable.


I was more interested in the question if "freeing citizens and business" of onerous regulations was good or bad...

I guess we will see if the new guy is better suited to be a public servant.

Anonymous said...

"I was more interested in the question if "freeing citizens and business" of onerous regulations was good or bad..."

How free are we if we don't have clean air and water? But then, there would be some "benevolent corporation" to come along and sell it to us, I suppose.

Moose

Sean said...

"I was more interested in the question if "freeing citizens and business" of onerous regulations was good or bad."

Well, then, that's the question you should have asked.

Anonymous said...

I was more interested in the question if "freeing citizens and business" of onerous regulations was good or bad...

The reason Republicans talk about regulation is that they don't want to talk about pollution. This is perfectly understandable. If I were a polluter, I would want to talk about something else too. Legalisms are there for people seeking to evade responsibility for their actions. That's what Supreme Court justices learn at Yale.

--Hiram

John said...

Hiram,
You have mentioned before that steel tariffs are a way to prop up a "failing industry"...

Why do you think that industry is failing in the USA and thriving in China?

Are our workers that incompetent or is it something to do with our regulations, unions, etc?

Is it okay for Liberals to demand large regulatory hurdles for companies in America?

While the Liberals happily buy the products from over seas?

And while the Liberals complain about all the jobs lost due to their choices?

That is what frustrates me so much about Liberals... Their choices helped to decimate the American work force and yet they want to blame everyone else.

Sean said...

"Is it okay for Liberals to demand large regulatory hurdles for companies in America?"

Chinese steelworkers make about $4,000 a year. A 2006 study found that nearly one-third of Chinese children had elevated levels of lead in their blood. Even the Chinese government admits that pollution has dramatically increased cancer rates.

Are you suggesting that we chase them on this?

John said...

No...

I am saying we need to be aware of all consequences and be willing to pay them.

Trumps 25% tariff should be supported and cheered by Liberals who want strong unions and clean plants.

Liberals should be happy to pay more for products from clean plants with high paid workers.

Instead Hiram calls it propping up failed industries.

And all American consumers are fine with poisoning those Chinese children as long as it saves them a few bucks.

John said...

Rare Earth Minerals are another good example

Anonymous said...

Trumps 25% tariff should be supported and cheered by Liberals who want strong unions and clean plants.

There was a time when liberal favored protectionist policies. But than there was WW II, and we had to rethink.

One thing I would point out is that while we do have a protectionist president, he is one who is also appointing anti union activists to the Supreme Court. What that means is that any benefit to unions from the tariffs will be more than negated by a Supreme Court hostile to unions.

--Hiram

John said...

Hiram,
Unions are not the answer... Having more good jobs than good employees is the answer... Now how do we get more good jobs back into America, that is the question?

Anonymous said...

"Now how do we get more good jobs back into America, that is the question?"

Bring back the Middle Class.

Moose

John said...

You are not going to bring back the middle class until you:
- remove the illegal workers who depress wages
- add back some more of the high value add jobs
- pressure all American citizens to learn and improve their capabilities

Expecting people to earn middle class wages for working at the mall, fast food restaurants, etc is unrealistic.

Think of the past good jobs, they
- were physically demanding
- they were emotionally demanding
- required special skills
- required special knowledge

Sorry but working at the mall does not fit into any of these.

Anonymous said...

You don't seem to know what destroyed the Middle Class.

Moose

John said...

I think it was consumers loving low price high quality goods, which has driven huge trade deficits ever since and cost the USA many millions of good paying jobs. All while the USA population was growing steadily.

We had a choice to make. Support our USA manufacturers and employees or buy over seas goods. We chose to vote with our wallet. Which makes sense we are all capitalists when it comes to our personal budgets.

We want the most value for our transactions.

John said...

Here is an interesting piece

John said...


Zacks Why Consumers Buy Foreign Goods

Americans say the want to buy American, but price comes first