The most interesting feature of the article was that Wall Street Journal did not present the protesters as crazies. Robert's interjection is made to sound reasonable. I would like to think that this nuanced change might be a sign of a positive mood swing in society.
On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 6:23 PM, Robert Naiman <[email protected]> wrote: > But the protests that punctuated Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee > vote suggested that some lawmakers could pay a price at the voting > booths in 2012 when the next elections are held. Senate Finance > Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) had to put the session on > hold while police escorted protesters out of the hearing room—and even > then, the disruptions continued. > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576625543532685026.html > > Senate Panel Clears Korea, Colombia, Panama Trade Pacts > By SIOBHAN HUGHES > OCTOBER 11, 2011, 7:13 P.M. ET > > WASHINGTON—The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved trade > deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, brushing aside opposition > from labor unions and some manufacturers in an effort to ratify pacts > first negotiated more than four years ago. > > The panel cleared the Colombia pact 18-6 and approved the other two > deals by voice vote. The deals are forecast to generate $13 billion a > year in exports and are expected to clear both the House and the > Senate on Wednesday. The trade agreements have been cast by both the > Obama administration and congressional leaders as a way to boost the > U.S. economy. > > Republicans and Democrats have been fighting for years over the trade > deals, reflecting longstanding tension over whether phasing out > tariffs winds up boosting growth or costing U.S. jobs. Unions are > coming out against the trade pacts, and have stepped up a lobbying > campaign since President Barack Obama submitted the agreements to > Congress last week. > > Democratic lawmakers began showing more support for the trade pacts > since the deals have been reworked. A final breakthrough came when > Republican leaders agreed to go along with the renewal of a > worker-retraining program that helps workers who lose jobs because of > overseas competition. The program, known as Trade Adjustment > Assistance, would be scaled back after a 2009 expansion as some > Republicans complain that the assistance is a waste of money. > > But the protests that punctuated Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee > vote suggested that some lawmakers could pay a price at the voting > booths in 2012 when the next elections are held. Senate Finance > Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) had to put the session on > hold while police escorted protesters out of the hearing room—and even > then, the disruptions continued. > > Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) at one point appeared to address the > audience directly, saying that "these agreements are fairly one-sided > in our favor—they actually open up markets that are closed to us." He > added that "these agreements actually create jobs for Americans." > > "That's not what the International Trade Commission said," replied a > man who later identified himself as Robert Naiman, policy director for > Just Foreign Policy. > > "The tariff cuts alone in the U.S.-South Korea trade agreements could > increase exports of American goods by $10 billion to $11 billion," Mr. > Kerry continued. > > "What about imports?" replied Mr. Naiman, who managed to keep his > voice just low enough to avoid being escorted out of the room. Mr. > Naiman later added: "Workers supported you, Sen. Kerry. Why aren't you > listening to workers now?" > > -- > Robert Naiman > Policy Director > Just Foreign Policy > www.justforeignpolicy.org > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
