Waarom import tarieven niet werken

Importtarieven klinken logisch, maar werken in de praktijk niet. Het idee is simpel: buitenlandse producten duurder maken om de eigen industrie te beschermen. Maar zodra zo’n tarief wordt ingevoerd, gebeuren er drie dingen die het effect ondermijnen:

Consumenten betalen de rekening.

Een importtarief is gewoon een belasting. Buitenlandse producenten blijven vaak dezelfde prijs vragen, waardoor de prijs in het binnenland stijgt. De eigen bevolking betaalt dus meer voor hetzelfde product — soms tientallen procenten meer — zonder dat dit tot betere kwaliteit of innovatie leidt.

Bedrijven verliezen concurrentiedruk.

Zodra bescherming er is, hoeft de binnenlandse industrie minder efficiënt te zijn. Productiviteit daalt, innovatie vertraagt en kosten lopen op. De economie wordt trager en minder flexibel.

Handelspartners slaan terug.

Landen reageren meestal met tegenmaatregelen: hogere tarieven op jouw producten. Exportbedrijven worden dan geraakt, vaak veel harder dan de sector die aanvankelijk beschermd moest worden. Netto gaat de economie er bijna altijd op achteruit.

Lange termijn

Het ironische is dat tarieven soms tijdelijk banen lijken te redden, maar bijna nooit duurzaam. De totale welvaart daalt: consumenten verliezen meer koopkracht dan bedrijven winnen aan bescherming.

Conclusie

Daarom zeggen economen — van links tot rechts — al ruim honderd jaar hetzelfde: importtarieven werken niet. Ze maken een land niet rijker, niet concurrerender en niet sterker, maar juist duurder, inefficiënter en kwetsbaarder.

Fools on the Hill

Fools on the Hill

Since the election of the Great Fool on the Hill, Donald the Duck Trump, the world is in terrible danger.

Instead of peace, this idiot is making friends into enemies, while thinking he is making friends with the devil.

Dictators

He also believes he is making his country great, but instead he is making it alone and without any support.

He is not alone at all. Dictators rule the current world today,  Xi Jinping China, Putin Russia,  Orban Hungary, Erdogan Turkey, Kim Jong-un North Korea just to name a few of the total 57 in the world.

Of course he is elected, but in the 40 days of his reign he behaves like the Caesar of the World.

Peace

No more making peace, no more creating free trade between countries and no more being human to migrants, who have been living in the USA for decades. The world is intermold thanks to this Duck.

Narrow-minded

How can a country be so stupid to elect such a person? Are Americans so narrow-minded that they only see themselves in a world where we need each other?

Future

Let us hope that the Republican Party comes to the realization, that this really cannot be, and that they join the Democrats for impeachment. Preferably yesterday!

COVID-19 - Corona en een menselijk leven?

Wat mag een mensenleven kosten?

Het antwoord op deze vraag is heel moeilijk te geven. Economisch gesproken gaat de Corona crisis de hele wereld heel veel geld kosten. Da's jammer als het om geld alleen gaat.

Helaas gaat dat tevens voor een heleboel mensen leiden tot het verlies van hun baan. En daarmee komen zijn/haar familie leden ook zonder inkomen te zitten.

Zuiver economisch gesproken zou je nu de volgende (niet mogelijke) afweging moeten maken:

• Zijn de kosten van de lock-down minder (ingrijpend) dan niets doen.
  Hoeveel mensen overlijden door niks te doen.
• Hoeveel mensen verliezen werk, inkomen en bestaan door deze crisis.
  Hoeveel mensen overlijden indirect.

Dit is een duivels dilemma waarvoor geen objectieve oplossing is. Toch wordt deze keuze wel gemaakt door de wereld politiek.

En wij kunnen niets anders doen dan toekijken, want aan ons wordt deze keuze niet gesteld.

SP en de Verkiezingen

In Nederland worden in maart 2007 provinciale staten verkiezingen gehouden
De Socialistische Partij (SP) probeert alleen maar stemmen te trekken, zich rijk te rekenen, maar zich constant te onttrekken van haar verantwoordelijkheid, zoals regeren door het sluiten van compromissen.

Kijk da's nu precies wat ik tegen deze groeperingen heb. Als ze de absolute meerderheid of macht hebben weten ze wat willen, maar als ze die niet hebben kunnen ze alleen maar kankeren.

't Laatste kunnen we allemaal als de besten, dat andere kost meer moeite.

SP
Politics
Jan Marijnissen

Rita Verdonk

The Dutch dragon Rita Verdonk has lost 2 battles for the leadership of the dutch liberal party VVD. The first election of the party members was in favor for Mark Rutte, the voting election resulted in a majority for Rita Verdonk (620.555 against 553.200 votes).

It is not the question when she will try it again, but if she will succeed in the end.


See more:
Uitslag tweede kamer verkingen van 22 november 2006.

Rita Verdonk
VVD
Mark Rutte

Business As Usual

Intro Euro
Since the introduction of the Euro in 2001 the prices of products and services have increased enormous for the connected countries. At first the governments denied, later they have to admit price raise was much too big. An increasing number of dutch people have difficulties to keep their financial balance healthy. The free distribution of food to poor families has increased with more than 300%.
Energy Price
The current energy prices do not make thinks more easy. The gas price, in the Netherlands a domestic product, but linked up with the oil price, has also tripled.
The Dutch goverment does not want to compensate.
Dime of Prime Minister Wim Kok
In 1990's Prime Minister Kok introduced his temporary increase of petrol prices by adding the so called 'kwartje van Kok' (Dime of Kok). During the politic campaign of the LPF the late Pim Fortuyn pointed out the forever temporality of this 'special legislation' dime. After the murder of Kok and the collapse of his party the goverment did know what to do: Nothing.
In 2006 a new medical health system is introduced in the Netherlands. To be very short: the social weaker groups traditional (elder people and allowances receiving) have to twice as much, which is compensated by 2/3. The richer people also pay more, but the extreme raises are compensated by the company they work for. After 20 years of trying the goverment does it again.
Burial and cremation costs
For elder people who think their burial insurance will be enough, their childeren will get a rather bleak surprise. The number is the same, but the prices are not in Guilders, but in Euros (Factor: 2.20371)! Business As Usual (BAU).

Euthanasia in the Netherlands

Today I visited an 84 years old woman. She has a metastasized lung cancer and wants to die as soon as possible. Foreigners think euthanasia in the Netherlands is very simple to get, but that's no true!

Euthansia in 2 steps
To get euthanasia you have to say it twice to the same medic. The first time to anounce you want it. The importance of the first step is that the docter knows you want euthanasia. If (for religion reasons) the medic don't want to support you, you have the opportunity to search for an another docter.
The second time you mention euthanasia is to activate the execution of euthanasia.

Execution of euthanasia
To get euthanasia you need to have an opinion of two separated docters. They have to agree on the euthanasia. To start the procedure you'll need to say explicit to your family docter you want 'euthanasia'. You better use the word 'euthanasia' (not a description) and have one or more witnesses to confirm you have said so. To be absolutely sure say it to the docter in front of those witnesses and confirm this in a document with signatures.

Euthanasia in practice
A lot of dutch people don't know the procedure this procedure for getting euthanasia. The result is that euthanasia is too late. The patient dies during the necessary procedures.

Technorati tag:
Euthanasia

A-Bomb Little Boy

Sixty years ago the world has been startled by the biggest bomb ever used on humans. The uranium bomb 'Litle Boy' delivered by B29 bomber 'Enola Gay' under command of Col. Paul W. Tibbits has changed the world forever.
There will come a time terrorists are in the possession of such weapons. Specialist may say a real atomic bombs are very difficult to maintain, but they agree 'dirty atomic weapons' are at this moment possible (Time: The Dirty Bomb Scenario).
The question is not if such a weapon will be used but when it will happen and where.

Atomic Bomb