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Stardate ?, Summer, 2014
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Missing from the 'Free Trade' debates:
- - where the replacements are for the 6,000 lost factory jobs and over $150 millions in annual payrolls from the now-closed Torrington Company (Ingersoll Rand) in Torrington, CT, plus the lost tax revenues to state, local and federal governments (including to Medicare and Social Security) as a result.
- -ditto re replacements for lost jobs at Vise-Grip factory in DeWitt, Nebraska, together with the disgusting general decrease in lost quality of many tools and other goods members of Congress continue to insist all Americans buy under continuing WTO and NAFTA and other trade treaties.
- -PLUS millions of other jobs, factories, entire industries and trillions of lost wages, benefits, homes and tax revenues all across America as a result of continued refusal by members of Congress to repeal WTO and NAFTA and other trade treaties - along with, of course, more hoopla over the need to fast-track ill-conceived more such treaties.
- -WHY Communist China and most of our other Asian trading partners buy virtually NOTHING from the USA, increasing ongoing structural unemployment and poverty in America.
- -WHAT and why, exactly, China is using their trillions in decades of increased hard currency from the US for? Modernizing their military? Buying up and monopolizing scarce and important resources-and adding some acreage and claims to control the planet as a result:
Recent news: China has grown by 2000 acres in 18 months...
"As the Chinese military races to build outposts on reclaimed land, nearby countries are alarmed by the territorial expansion.".
The
chart below shows HUGE and ever-increasing levels of imports to the US
from Communist China following passage of WTO by Congress decades ago:
-nearly $180 billions in recent years!
NOW
take a look at the piddly amount of US exports to China under the False
Trade of WTO: only $13 billion in 2013, less in 2014:
$180 billion per year in recent years exported to China in Americans' Hard Currency to import "goods" from Communist China
-$12 billion exported to China per year
= an Annual estimated trade DEFICIT with China of $168 billions per year in recent years. That's a lot of US jobs and industries.
*** And we have not yet counted the trade deficits with Japan, South Korea and our other False Trade "partners" who
buy little or nothing from us and who invest little of the trillion$ we've exported back here in the good ol' USA. ***
Given
this record, members of Congress and various Presidents have ignored
their duty to protect America and Americans from unfair and harmful
trade treaties which may well be unconstitutional and which treaties
have clearly placed US-basedindustries, firms and factories and workers in a negative economic position. Not
to mention increasing our national and state debt, crippling Medicare
and Social Security, undermined and destroyed our once proud economy and
tax base. Unless immediate remedial action to repeal WTO and NAFTA is
taken - instead of "fast-tracking" more such nonsensical treaties, the
adverse and growing harm to Americans and their prosperity and freedom
will continue and grow.
Even Asian government and business leaders must realize that slower
exports to the US mean slower economic growth at in Asia, begging the
question of WHY they have invested little of the hard cash we send them
back into America to keep their best customers working for decent pay
and benefit (and buying their stuff!) Lacking the robust incomes
Americans once had means an end to economic growth for all nations who
think they can play "free trade" to ONLY their advantage. In the meantime, Americans and the foolish people they continue to elect can say goodbye to the decent health care, education
and national defense a strong economy once supported. Why else would we
be looking at a national debt - including Social Security and Medicare -
of over $80 trillions, and another
$1 trillion in student loan and personal and family debt? The recent
long and ongoing US recession was not a "housing bubble" but an INCOME
COLLAPSE.The latest answer in Washington? President Obama wants more false trade instead of asking Professor Alan Binder, of Princeton to have beer with him so he can learn how many more US-based jobs are ending up exported to offshore locales. How many US jobs might be offshoreable?
- The answer came from Princeton Professor Blinder in 2007, 8 years ago ( - Cited by 388 - Related articles ) at: http://www.princeton.edu/~ceps/workingpapers/142blinder.pdf
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AS OF JUNE 21ST, PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS NETWORK HAS HAD NO REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING FROM CONGRESSMAN HINES OF CT:
A
Letter to Congressman Hines (D-CT) asking about trade agreements and
quid pro quos, the UNaffordable Care Act, submitting proposed
legislation reportedly
written in part by at least some of your (banking) campaign contributors....and decent jobs for all Americans...
attn: Patrick Malone, Communications Director for Congressman Hines
Hi Patrick,
I
called the Office of Congressman Hines today and was advised to send
this along to you for a reply from the Congressman. Since I created
something called Public Interest News Network ( www.publicinterestnewsnetwork.
- Rumor is there was a quid pro quo re the (current?) overseas trip on trade - supposedly a plane ride for support of fast-tracking the most recent proposed trade agreement. While I find this hard to believe, I gotta ask: was there ANY quid pro quo and if so, what? If not, what is the purpose of anyone going in the first place?
- Re so-called free trade, why is it China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and other nations import virtually nothing from the USA? (If you cannot create your own charts of this data on FRED, let me know and I'll send a few to Cong Hines...)
- Why haven't WTO and NAFTA worked well for American workers and families overall?
- More importantly, what is Cong. Hines record on creating good jobs with employer-paid benefits for Americans here in the USA? What have been his goals for jobs for Americans and what legislation has he submitted/supported to achieve better jobs for Americans given all the empty factories we've had here for years?
- Does Cong Hines still think the ACA is working? If so, why are people like me and my spouse struggling to pay all those copays, deductibles, co-insurances and premiums for health care which is pegged to be no longer the best on the planet? And WHEN will America's patients and consumer have a 'place at the table' to help negotiate all those prices we all pay either through our health insurance of out of pocket? It seems to many of us that members of Congress and of our CT General Assembly and Governor Malloy and President Obama - all elected officials for that matter - are completely oblivious to the fact that prices of medical services prices continue to climb much faster than most Americans can pay for them, especially given the ongoing recession, stagnant personal incomes and lack of any consumer bargaining power in these matters - not to mention the fait accompli approved or tacitly agreed to by Congress of continued monopolization of hospital, doctor, DME and other medical services and products.
- I might add that the obfuscation of health plan brand names being sold to Americans by the private sector and approved by Congress - a la 'Platinum', 'Gold", 'Silver' - etc. is fooling no one. We all know that 'good care' is only available if one can afford it.
- I read where Cong Hines worked for Goldman Sachs and submitted legislation including verbatim language written by a Wall Street banking firm. Also saw something about exempting some firms from the Dodd-Franks legislation? I would be remiss if I did not ask if he sometimes represents special (banking) interests at the expense of better protections for consumers and the public interest...? Or alternately, expecting the obvious reply, how does he see his support for bank interests before Congress tying in with and supporting those of consumers and the public interest?
Thank-you,
Public Interest News Network
