Free Trade, in my humble opinion, is killing this country. It is at least killing off the Middle Class that have made this country strong and that
most of us belong to. There are always complaints that Obama wants to redistribute wealth. Republicans are always against this. And yet, Free Trade
at its core, is a grand redistribution of wealth. It holds that by virtue of comparative advantage each country will develop specialty areas and
everyone will be better off for it. The theory is that developing nations will improve their standard of living to come up to the level that is
already enjoyed by developed nations.
In reality there are a fixed amounts of wealth and resources in the world. The U.S. had more wealth than other countries, held by its population, and
now it is being spread out around the world. IF Obama had come up with and run on it we would call it treason and shout that he needed to be removed
on the basis of this action alone. But Free Trade schemes (and yes, my phrasing shows my bias) have been put forward by both political parties. And,
Obama actually used to say that he was at least somewhat against them.
No longer apparently.
More Free Trade, and fewer jobs, headed your way
Congress could vote any day now to strike a new blow against already-battered U.S. workers and the unemployed.In the three years since Obama wooed
voters with talk of bold changes in trade policy, the need for reforms has reached crisis proportions. The global economic crisis left the United
States with skyrocketing un- and under-employment rates.The full-court press on the FTAs represents a reversal for a president elected on a trade
reform platform. During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama proclaimed his opposition to the NAFTA-style FTAs and boasted of his stance against
the devastating North American and Central American agreements. As candidate Obama, he carefully distanced himself from the open-market, pro-corporate
policies of his predecessor, calling for significant changes to the NAFTA model, including enforceable labor and environmental standards, and consumer
protections. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that the South Korean FTA alone will cost 159,000 U.S. jobs. Department of Commerce data shows
that over the past decade of free trade policy multinational corporations cut their U.S. workforce by 2.9 million and increased overseas employment by
2.4 million.
And here I thought our Congress was devoting their time (on both sides of the aisle) to improving the U.S. economy and bringing more jobs. When will
I stop being so naive?
I know that there are those out there who still believe that Free Trade is the way. But they are not the majority of Americans.
Most Americans Against Free Trade as they think it hurts the
U.S.
NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 69 percent of Americans believe free trade agreements with other countries have cost jobs in the
United States, while just 18 percent believe they have created jobs. A 53 percent majority—up from 46 percent three years ago and 30 percent in
1999—believes that trade agreements have hurt the nation overall.
Now I understand that just because the majority doesn't think something is a good idea doesn't mean that they are correct. However, given the sheer
numbers of Americans who are opposed it would seem like our government could at least pay some attention to our concerns instead of furthering what
most of us view to be a harmful policy. Oh, there's that darn naivety again! Nasty habit. I really must get rid of it.
It surprises me too that Republicans hold this out there. Under what I consider to be the misguided belief that Free Trade helped everyone to improve
their lives, I could understand if the Democrats pushed it. But why the Republicans? I guess because it is good for business. Or at least, certain,
huge multinational corporations.
But there are very successful business people who are not in favor of straight up Free Trade. Namely, yes, you guessed it. The Donald!
Donald Trump for FAIR Trade, not Free Trade
In January, Trump complained to talk radio's Michael Savage that Americans "no longer make things" and in March told a CNN interviewer, "Nobody,
other than OPEC, is ripping off the United States like China." In the CNN interview, Trump also said that China "is stealing all our jobs" and "making
all our products." He advocated "a 25 percent tax on products that come into the United States."
I understand that imposing tariffs on incoming items will make them more expensive. I also understand that in these hard economic times nobody wants
to pay more for their goods. However, I am somewhat fearful that if we don't start protecting Amercian Workers by making American made goods more
competitive on the shelf, there will be even more people out of work and eventually none of us will be able to afford goods. Even cheap, freely
traded ones. American companies have and continue to be hard hit. In Novemberr of 2010 Ford tried to get the word out.
Free Trade hurts Ford at home and abroad
Ford Motor Company ran an ad Thursday in more than 20 newspapers speaking out against the Korea Free Trade Agreement. Ford says the agreement
puts American automakers at a severe disadvantage in Korea.
And what makes it all even worse is that so called Free Trade often doesn't follow the formula that is supposed to define it. Some countries give
subsidies to some of their industries. That subsidy allows them to price their products super cheaply. Competitors are left in the dust. South
Korea subsidizes their auto industry. Across the board South Korean subsidies have been picking up for the past decade.
www.tradingeconomics.com...
We have also given subsidies (Alabama) to foreign companies because they have built plants and brought jobs. I have mixed feelings on that one.
Also, in the interest of full disclosure the U.S. does subsidize corn which is undercutting Mexican farmers and causing a loss of biodiversity in corn
crops. And corn is quite arguably one of the most important crops of all time.
How much longer will this go on? I had (oh, no, NAIVELY) thought that watching the slow melt down of the Euro Zone might have slowed us from our
economic entanglements. But no. We continue full speed ahead with the support of both parties. Is there any one who really cares about America
anymore? Well, let me rephrase that because of course there are people that care about America and her people. But are any of them elected to
represent us?
How do we fix this ATS?
edit on Sun Jul 17 2011 by DontTreadOnMe because: attempt to fix last link