Presidential Debates - How do we get a question approved?

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   TexasLadyJuanitaposted 11 years ago

   Who knows how I get my question approved for our Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates in the debates?
   My question: When an American business of 30 years has to close because it's cost of goods to make their product dictated by oppressive government regulation is so high, the American population chooses the cheap Chinese product made with no regulations at all.
   (FYI The example is from a friend of mine who had a laboratory making dental products like dental bridges. Not a frivolous product for Americans.)

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      habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great question!

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         TexasLadyJuanitaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         AHAAA! The answer was emailed to me privately . . .
         comments@debates.org is where to send comments for the debates.  To see more go to http://www.debates.org/.

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      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's not really a question as you write it but regardless it has a two part answer.
      
      Part 1) Regulation exists for a reason, you have to be more specific to get a proper answer, some regulation may be unnecessary some has very good reason to exist, either way just broadly saying regulation is pointless, US products for example carry a lot more respect around the world because they are made with quality regulations in place something China is still struggling with.
      
      #2 Regulation is not the reason China has cheaper products, they can pay their employees two dollars a week and work their employees 12 to 15 hours a day, they have also artificially (and possibly illegally) controlled their currency to get the most value out of export goods, regulation is not to blame for the cost disparity that is caused by other market forces, there may be cases where regulation has some impact but it's certainly not the main cause nor is it a cause universal to all products.

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         TexasLadyJuanitaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Josak, You may be more informed than me. I did not pose it as a question. What I should have said:
         ---------------------------------------------------
         When an American business of 30 years has to close
         because it's cost of goods to make their product dictated by oppressive
         government regulation is so high, the American dentist / population
         chooses the cheap Chinese product made with no regulations at all.
         The example is from a friend of mine who had a laboratory making dental
         products like dental bridges.This is not a frivolous product for Americans.
         It defeats the purpose of regulations, if Americans will be buying unregulated
         foreign products. What would you do to stop American businesses from
         being replaced by unregulated cheap foreign business?
         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         My friend and his wife had 2 employees. Over 30 years the regulations built up and increased his cost of goods to the point that he could not compete with the product from China. The product from China had no regulations. So, it would seem that my question is still valid.
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         I apologize for not stating my question as a question. Ten years ago, I would have caught that. You will see me here on days when I believe I can express myself well. On the days you do not see me here, I know I am not. One day I will just drift away and my FB, Hub, and other friends will wonder what became of me. Luckily, I will then be in a place where it won't matter any more. Making a difference in the world is a hard thing to let go of. On my good days I will continue to write, and pray you will forgive my making a statement instead of the question it should be. Some of you guys are real hard on us amateurs. Interesting, habee above got it.

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            bgamallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            There is good regulation and bad. For example, bad regulation was weak regulation that did not stop the banks from lending toxic loans to the masses. Underwriters were pulled from the banks, on purpose, because the banks could securitize the loans and pawn them off to others.

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            Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry, I hope you didn't take offense, I was just letting you know it wasn't properly phrased as a question so you could edit it for other people, my apologies if that came off wrong.
            
            Well as I said regulations can be good and bad and I am certainly not saying there are no bad ones, if for example your friend was driven out of business because there were regulations to make working in his business safer for employees then I can't really condemn that.
            
            The point is most regulation is useful, there may be regulation that needs to be removed but that has to be dealt with on a case by case basis not an overreaching statement. As a long time former coal miner I would be very upset to see regulation to prevent black lung being removed because it saves lives, even though China does not have it and that means our coal costs more.

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               TexasLadyJuanitaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Over the years, as I have lunched with business people, i have heard it said more than once by people much higher in the importance chain than me that:
               When we went off the gold standard, foreign interests went nuts, agreements were made as such - The US Petrodollar would remain the currency of trading IF the U.S. government were to make sure that industrial America would decline and the rest of the world would take over those industries.
               I think I heard it enough in hushed tones that when I saw our government pushing us out of our industries, it rang true. I helped sell the assets of a HUGE refinery in California in the late 80's or early 90's. It was like a ghost town, I cannot imagine how many people worked there. It was larger than our Shell plant here on the Houston Ship Channel. It was one of the saddest places I have ever been. Selling those assets was difficult to sell in the U.S. Most buyers were foreign.
               It seems to me we should not have shut down those plants until we had a cleaner business to replace the product and jobs.
               When I was young, the plants on the ship channel had parking lots totally full. Those refineries are producing well below optimum to stay within government regulations. It shows in all the empty parking lots (the ones further out).
               Whether that agreement is real or not, I don't know, but the evidence we can see with our own eyes

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      bgamallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      In some things I would avoid the cheaper product. I buy US made dog food for my dogs, and only US made.

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         TexasLadyJuanitaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Nothing but Blue Buffalo for my dogs for years now. We have tried to buy American when at all possible. Those American products are disappearing as the years pass.

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            bgamallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I think Trader Joes has some American dog food and products.

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