STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 6 September 2013

[Demeter]

27. And there's more!

A right-left coalition is also developing around another issue where President Obama is leading in the wrong direction. He is pushing the secret globalization agreement; the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is urging Congress to give him sole authority to negotiate it through “Fast Track.”

Under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, Congress is given the responsibility “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations.” Just as with war, where the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and they asserted that power when nearly 200 demanded Obama get Congressional approval; when it comes to trade, Congress needs to assert itself and fulfill its constitutional mandate by refusing to allow “Fast Track,” holding hearings, listening to experts and citizens and making amendments to the proposed TPP.

A bipartisan coalition is developing in Congress to stop Fast Track. For the Democrats, it is led by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro; for the Republicans, by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). These Members are all aware of the secrecy over the past four years of negotiations – secret except for the more than 600 corporate advisers to the US Trade Representative for President Obama – and therefore Congress has not played its role in designing the TPP.

Outside of Congress, we are also seeing views from across the political spectrum in opposition to the TPP. Mayor Bloomberg wrote an op-ed criticizing the TPP for risking U.S. public health and undermining our sovereignty. On the same day Jim Hightower wrote an excellent report on the TPP calling it a corporate coup d’état—against us.

1TPPpatentAnd, the TPP is a big deal, the largest trade agreement since the WTO, that will affect every aspect of our lives from the food we eat to whether water becomes a commodity; whether we have health careas a public good or whether workers get paid a fair wage and work in a safe environment; whether Big Banks and their economy-risking, derivative deals are regulated to whether we have Internet freedom or a clean environment. The list goes on and on.

As with stopping the war in Syria, stopping the global corporate coup of the TPP is possible. An overarching issue for our movement is putting people and planet before profits. To accomplish this, people must take action. On September 17, the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, protests are planned to push Congress to oppose Fast Track. And, there will be atraining camp and protests in Washington, DC beginning on September 21. This will be something you will want to be part of, but space is limited, so register today.