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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Chinese Slave Labor to Rebuild New Orleans

T-P today:
City officials who last week visited China on a four-day trade mission said the trip produced connections with building-supplies manufacturers that ultimately could lead to cheaper materials for people rebuilding homes and businesses in the area.

"We are excited about the opportunities that await us," said Donna Addkison, the city's economic development director. Addkison said the city is on the brink of a $60 million economic boom driven by construction activity. "We see this mission to Shanghai as an important step in realizing that investment."

Addkison, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee and City Council President Oliver Thomas were among a delegation of more than 40 people who visited Shanghai on Sept. 23 to tout investment opportunities in the New Orleans area and make connections with Chinese building-material manufacturers. They presented the results of their trip Tuesday.

The delegation met with building-supply vendors hawking everything from "gaskets to complete homes," Addkison said. No firm commitments were made, but Thomas said the trip was necessary in part to establish rapport and eventually an alternative to the skyrocketing price of home-building materials. One goal is to create a process by which local builders can import goods directly from Chinese manufacturers without using intermediaries.

"There are so many things that we hope will extend the dollar and make the rebuilding effort more affordable," Thomas said.

Gee that's swell. How do they do that?
Oh yeah. They cheat, exploit, oppress, and pollute. What a truly generous partner we've sought out! Way to go, guys.

Related: Don't miss Taibbi
Conservative commentators go to great lengths to assure Americans that the rise of China is actually a good thing. Townhall.com chairman Doug Wilson wrote a great "How we can compete with China" column a few months ago in which he proposed four steps America could take to correct the trade imbalance. The first three of these steps were a school voucher program, tax cuts (so that there will be more capital available for investment), and immigration reform measures that would allow foreign students to stay and work after they complete their education. The fourth step? Attitude reform. "The American entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well," he writes. "As Newt Gingrich says, 'We can win the future.' A positive vision for a better America is critical to our future."

This, too, sounds like good advice for taking on a country that pays its workers pennies an hour, pollutes indiscriminately and arrests any labor leaders who dare to stick their heads above ground -- think positive! You can do it, America! Just put yer nose to the ol' grindstone, and things will work out. Didn't you all see Rudy?

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