US to probe if China clean energy actions WTO-legal 

http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN1521419520101015?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

I don’t know why it still flabbergasts me when I see the U.S. try to blame all its problems on other countries. It has the feel of a road trip with little kids:

“Mommy, he hit me!”

“Yeah, well she was touching me.”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Were too!”

Where is the adult to advocate for self-control in the situation?

“All right you guys! That’s enough. Zip your lips shut and sit on your hands for 5 minutes. Then you can have another chance to show you can function without bugging your neighbor.”

“But-“

“Don’t ‘but’ me unless you want to find your butt standing on the side of the road.”

I always thought it remarkable how well that dialog worked. And no, I really don’t think the WTO is the “impartial adult” for the situation. It just seems to me that if the U.S. would stop acting infantile and clean up its own act to make the climate more business-friendly and stop the choke-hold that the unions have, we’d see companies actually return. But no. We’re going to raise taxes on “rich people” (code for small businesses) and let unions stomp all over industry.

Besides self-control, there was something else I taught my kids while they were growing up: You don’t have to play with a bully. If you don’t like the way someone is treating you, just leave. Go find someone else who will be nicer to you. Eventually they’ll get the message. Now, where did all those manufacturing jobs go…?

winner-winner, chicken dinner 🙂