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I'm not sure how the situation you describe isn't a catch-22.

You state that if CA regulates their factories, for example: requiring that they meet strict pollution standards, they will move. When they move, CA no longer has jurisdiction over the excrement they shoot into the air.

So you state that CA should just not regulate their factories.

This doesn't sound like a solution at all.




I believe the argument the parent was making has to do with too strict controls. For instance, regulation of release of particle X can be 0%, limited to 25%, or 50%. CA regulates it at 50% so everyone moves to a 0% region. CA would have been better off if they regulated at the 25% and had them stay in CA.


The solution is to tax goods originating in places with inferior environmental (or labor, or human rights, or whatever you care about) standards to the degree that the difference in regulatory costs is moot.


An interesting addition to that would be any tax revenues originating from such country would be earmarked/donated to go back directly to that country to improve environmental, labor or human rights standards. By donating it back to the country, it becomes less of a protectionist tariff and would potentially improve conditions there, but at the same time would make companies in the US who are subject to stricter regulation more competitive.


The solution is for the Chinese to get serious about the environment, or just die off (or, if lucky, emigrate to Cali) as they've rendered their own country unlivable.


Good luck telling voters that everything at Walmart now costs twice as much. Our economy and infrastructure is now dependent on cheap goods from China. Peoples perceived standards of living have gone up because we buy all this cheap garbage.

What career politician is going to do this?


I'm not saying people would accept this. Most people are selfish, craven, and ignorant. What I am saying is it is immoral to require standards of production for your own citizens, but allow free trade with nations that lack such standards.


If you think voters would comprehend a debate about tariffs, on its own merits, you are vastly mistaken.


That is why I used the term "swift and strangling". They were too aggressive and now the planet has to pay. This is akin to vigilantes who end up killing innocents because they are overzealous. Unfortunately, these politicians don't have to answer to anyone. Imagine that, a group of "environmentalists" pushing stiff regulations actually caused more damage then they thought they would prevent. Idiots.

They could have done far more incremental regulating over a longer period of time and the world would have been a much better place because of it. How do these environmentalist planet wreckers sleep at night?


Please explain how CA regulations forced manufacturers to China, and not merely to Arizona.


>Please explain how CA regulations forced manufacturers to China, and not merely to Arizona.

Well more often not actually moving the factory to China, really it is just sending the designs to an existing factory there.

If you (as a factory owner or group of owners) were being forced to pay a huge amount of money and take a concerted amount of effort to relocate a factory because you cannot afford to make all the overly stringent environmental concessions that were placed on you (or alternatively go out of business). You would definitely sit down and consider all your options.

Do you (as a factory owner) want to uproot your family and move as well. Do you want to bet the company in an expensive and risky move? How do you know that Arizona won't pass the same law 5 years down the road?

The other alternative would be to take higher profits and less risk by beginning to incrementally phase in products made in china and eventually completely shut down your plant and leave only your administrative and engineering offices open?

What would any achievement/profit minded person do?


I think you're assuming your conclusion a bit too strongly.




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