NAFTA and the Recession

No.

No.

I don't even pretend to understand what you mean by this.

[Edited on Dec 02, 2003 by TheFuckOffKid]

My point was simply that NAFTA is often wrongly used as the lightening rod for a whole host of economic issues in the US.

I would suggest that the 2000-2003 economic slowdown was caused by a couple of key factors: 1) growth had been running at unrealistic rates for several years and needed to slow; 2) when growth slows, corporate profits fade and generally corporate management looks to cut costs (read reduce headcount) to keep profits high when faced with falling revenues; 3) accounting crises, brokerage research crises, national security concerns (Sept11) and the prospect of going to war all induced risks in the marketplace, so everyone got conservative and there was a flight to safe investments (gold and credit prices go up, equities go down).

YAWG, I am not trying to belittle your point, but I'm having difficulty understanding your position - could you try to re-state it for me?

-oAk-

alhim is already trying to do that on the Matrix thread

HAHAHAHAHA. I know! I just came here to point that out but you got here first. Who'da thunk my flippant comment would turn out to be so apt?

I'll be over there in the corner dreaming up insults.

Outside of all the fascinating talk about market dynamics in the presence of free trade, what sector of the economy does mikeyd have his business in? Is it not plausible that it could be a sector that could be in a recession due to the minute economic forces that the combined dastardly duo of Mexico and Canada could bring to bear? It would seem to reason that some areas of the U.S. economy would suffer due to the lowering of barriers, to believe otherwise would suggest that anything done by americans is done better, no?