Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Warren’s Foreign Policy


Recently I outlined Elizabeth Warren’s platform to be elected president. Missing was her stance on foreign affairs ... which she seems to studiously avoid on the debate stage ... see:  The Warren Doctrine. So I have gone back to the search engines to fill in this void and did find something she “wrote” in 2018 which lays out her vision for how she would deal with the rest of the world if elected ... see: Foreign Affairs Article. Kind reader, take some time to read this revealing article. You will find that Warren’s foreign policy is little more than an extrapolation of her socialist domestic stance. Not very detailed or insightful beyond what Trump is doing.

In short, she advocates:

- Trade policies that sound very much like President Trump’s ... although I sincerely doubt that she would pursue this stance with Trump’s tariffs spine. She does acknowledge that globalism has benefited large international companies while hollowing out American manufacturing and our middle class.

- Given this recognition, Warren offers little of how she would remedy these imbalances. She accuses President Trump of self-serving policies with little evidence to support this assertion. It seems she would fix the sins of globalism with more domestic programs, subsidies and expanded socialism. The whipped cream on this cake would be punishing US corporations with higher taxes and lower profits ... and, although not admitted to by her, crippled competitiveness.

- American technology companies must insure individual privacy both at home and abroad.

- We should use American economic power to coerce other nations toward cleaner environmental policies. Climate change is a dire threat.

- Like Trump, Warren believes we must end our involvement in endless foreign wars. Virtually all of our involvements in the Middle East have burdened our future generations with untold debt while bringing little current benefit. BUT, our focus on terrorism has distorted our domestic policies toward limiting immigration, increased racism and social injustice. Our foreign policy must be based on “fair” domestic policies.

All in all — pretty thin gruel ...

No comments: