Look at what they do, not what they say.
Government officials often tell us that global warming is an existential threat. And yet, when it comes to public policy, the issue is treated almost as an afterthought. For example, the US is currently blocking the import of Chinese electric cars. If BYD’s excellent and very cheap EVs were sold here, they would quickly gain market share. It seems like a few union jobs are more important than global warming.
We are often told that China poses the greatest threat to American national security, and that we must work with our “allies” to counter that threat. So what should we make of the next story?
President Joe Biden has announced the sale of United States Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp. worth $14.1 billion, killing a high-profile deal that sparked a political firestorm and tensions between the US and Japan. . . .
“We need major American companies, representing the majority of America’s steelmaking capacity, to continue leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said in a written statement, adding that the deal “will include one of America’s largest steelmakers would place foreign control. and create risks to our national security and our critical supply chains.”
We claim that Japan is one of our closest allies. We demand that they sacrifice economic growth by refraining from exporting high-tech products to China. They meet our wishes. And then when a few union jobs are threatened, we turn around and treat them like an enemy nation.
This is not about the place where the steel is produced. Nippon Steel would not offer US Steel $14 billion if they planned to close the company. Rather, the fear is that Nippon would make US Steel more efficient, and that could cost a few jobs. However, in the long run, inefficiency leads to unemployment. So it’s not even clear that American steelworkers will benefit from the president’s decision:
Biden’s announcement was a huge victory for United Steelworkers President David McCall and his union’s leadership, which has been outspoken in its opposition to the deal even as some rank-and-file workers spoke out in favor of it.
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