Tariffs and sky high audio prices.

@ghasley 

All I'm saying is that I don't mind paying tariffs on Chinese goods if that's what it takes to level the playing field with balanced trade agreements that give American factory workers a competitive chance.

I have, for the record, worked in China and today support several factories in China.  I  have worked in many countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Yugoslavia, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden and Turkey.  Not only do I have great respect for people of every country, I have learned that they are really no different than anyone else ... including us.  International economics is a team sport, however, and there is nothing insensitive or disrespectful about not allowing some of those other teams to cheat.

I don't recall knowing any South American students, but I do like the music.  I just this week picked up two Laurindo Almeida albums, one with Charlie Byrd and the other with Bud Shank.  Great stuff!  In the international spirit, I bought the one with Charlie Byrd from Japan ... I love those Japanese pressings and happily pay the extra shipping!

@millercarbon @clearthink 

Enough politics, even though I agree with you, tell us about your international equipment and music experiences!  Do you ever buy Chinese gear?  Would you be willing to pay tariffs on it?

Ok moderators, I understand now: “He sacrificed all that putting the nation first. The last one to do anything comparable was George Washington”. I guess we slid down the slippery slope huh?

Objectively @millercarbon you might have to admit that Fox News and Glenn Beck were not lifting up Obama or Clinton. It was just barely perceptible, but I think I caught the occasional barb. As to the congress and senate when Trump came in, I believe it was 3 elephants to no donkeys. You are right though, there is no credible, objective news organization NOT digging through the train car loads of “stuff”. Just too much smoke for a real journalist to leave it alone. The irony that you elected to mention Trump in the same sentence with Washington (I can not tell a lie) shouldn’t escape anyone with a sense of humor.

And yes, I do find this humorous. Examining the same set of facts and arriving at completely opposite conclusions is troubling. While Im am certain I am not exactly right, I know I am not completely wrong. In the meantime I’ll pay my taxes, occasionally shake my head in disbelief at the vast chasm between reality and futility. By the way, who knew Sean Spicer was an audiophile but he must be...he is alive and well and posting occasionally on this thread.

Where's the centrist moderators when you need them?

It must be nice to have the mods on your side as it gives you a false sense of vindication of sorts.

Why is it that bootlickers, right wing fringe elements, and admirers of someone who's a malignant narcissist can turn this site into a shrine for hate, greed and authoritarianism? 

All the best,
Nonoise

All I'm saying is that I don't mind paying tariffs on Chinese goods if that's what it takes to level the playing field with balanced trade agreements that give American factory workers a competitive chance.

Bingo! Free trade isn't really free when one side has to comply with protecting the snail darter while the other is free to belch out enough chemicals to light a river on fire. Is there a minimum wage in China? To pick just one item from one volume from the library of regulations US businesses must comply with. 

We can't, nor should we, tell other countries what laws they must have to be on equal terms. But we sure can make them pay a tax if they aren't. Its only fair.