-Caveat Lector- "I pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, one Nation under God,indivisible,with liberty and justice for all."
visit my web site at http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon My ICQ# is 79071904 for a precise list of the powers of the Federal Government linkto: http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon/Enumerated.html ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 02:02:08 -0500 (EST) From: Marv Graham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [JBirch] That giant sucjing sound >From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Dec 18 00:53:30 2003 From: "Carl F. Worden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Has The Free Trade Backlash Finally Begun? Carl F. Worden Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 21:25:34 -0800 Well what do you know: CNN's Lou Dobbs expressed his most extreme dismay at the reality of Free Trade during his 12/17/03 evening show. He was exasperated by the fact the state of Washington had awarded a high tech firm in India a lucrative contract to furnish state services. The Indian firm came in the lowest bidder, so Washington State officials awarded the contract on the basis that the Washington State taxpayers needed to get the biggest bang for their taxpayer buck. That sounds good on the surface to just about everyone, but as Dobbs pointed out, that's the same reason our major corporations are exporting American jobs to the lowest bidders: The corporation must give its shareholders the biggest bang for their investment buck too. The problem, as Dobbs noted, is that we've completely lost sight of the fact our growing unemployment figures mean the unemployed are not paying taxes or investing. As less taxes are collected, the federal, state and even local governments will seek similar low bids from offshore sources to make up for the shortfall, and our corporations will have fewer and fewer American investors -- not that it matters to them who their shareholders are, so long as they keep buying their stock. It was also revealed in the same CNN segment that federal agency HUD had engaged the services of the same Indian firm, and it was widely reported over a month ago that the IRS had given another Indian company the duty to process some American tax returns. But Dobbs erred at the end of the segment when he ran off a list of names of all the huge American corporations that are exporting jobs to foreign nations - as if they are somehow the bad guys for doing it. They are not! When the Republican dominated congress pushed through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) almost ten years ago, you may recall that presidential hopeful Ross Perot stood at the podium and predicted we'd all hear a "giant sucking sound" of American jobs being lost to overseas firms. It was Democrat President Bill Clinton who signed those bills into law, but he did so in direct defiance of his own party, which has been largely supported by labor unions adamantly opposed to the legislation. The unions brought a constitutional challenge before the United States Supreme Court, alleging among other things, that NAFTA and GATT were international treaties requiring a 2/3 Senate approval, and not mere legislation passed by a majority of both houses. The Supreme Court ruled against the unions and our Constitution -- as seems to be usual these days. Almost ten years later, our manufacturing jobs have left our shores by the millions, to the extent that it is almost impossible to buy anything off the American shelf that is not made in Communist China and elsewhere. Now, the job losses have begun to decimate our American high tech workers. Hey, it's only the beginning. I believe Dobbs' segment was probably the most outspoken, and it signals the beginning of a backlash. But as stated, it is wrong to single out the American corporations and the government bodies now taking advantage of the offshore services underbidding American sources. I found it interesting that two of the firms on Dobbs' list were EDS and Perot. Any astute businessman running an American company knows that if his competitor begins using low-cost labor offshore, whether it be manufacturing or talent, he will have to do the same to remain competitive. Perot saw the inevitable coming right at him and did what any astute businessman would under the circumstances. So did the vast majority of American businessmen. It was either do it, or lose your competitive edge and go out of business. It was the Republican Congress' passage of NAFTA/GATT that sliced America's economic throat, and the hemorrhaging of American jobs in virtually all sectors except service, hands-on medical care and a few others, will continue unabated unless and until the federal government takes steps to reverse its position and indeed, its participation in NAFTA/GATT. Our esteemed president, George W. Bush, is a strong supporter of NAFTA/GATT and free trade. Some time ago, Bush placed tariffs on foreign steel that was threatening to wipe out American steel interests. He was just forced to reverse those tariffs after the World Trade Organization threatened massive fines for clearly violating our insane agreements under GATT. I remember reading a German commentator's column, written right after NAFTA/GATT were signed into law. He wrote, "Wait until it hits them." Them is us, and after viewing Dobbs' segment, I'd say the reality of NAFTA and GATT have finally hit home. It's about time! 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