Bernie/Trump/Hillary On Trade Policy - When You Say You Are Against Free Trade Agreements

[JDPriestly]

16. I think that thousands and thousands of jobs have been moved to Mexico under the

NAFTA agreement.

Most recently, Carrier air conditioning company offered its workers only $5.25 per hour in exchange for Carrier staying in the US.

These trade agreements overall are a bad deal for the US.

Sorry, but for somebody like this who remembers what life was like in the US before the trade agreements (born 1943), I know they are a horrible deal.

Used to be we girls learned to sew in junior high school. I sew a lot. The clothes we get as imports are cheap in every way. The seams are nearly nonexistent. They are made of flimsy, cheap fabric. They are in short, just awful.

When I go to clothing stores, I am reminded of the quality of clothing that I used to see in the clothes in the Communist bloc when I was traveling in the 1960s through 1980s.

We were really good at making things. With the exception of Germany, most of the people in other countries who make the cheap stuff that average Americans can afford and that are imported suck at making things.

Enough said.

I will repeat this story until I am blue in the face. I bought a used Maytag washer in 1985. I raised two children with it. I still use it. It is in great condition. It was made in America.

New washers made in other countries do not last like that.

When I had to buy a new, imported dryer, I was told I could expect it to last two-three years.

We are importing junk and exporting our dollars in exchange.

We have a terrible trade deficit.

The trade agreements hurt, have hurt and will hurt our domestic economy. They also conflict with our Constitution.

I oppose the trade agreements. I do not oppose trade. But I oppose trade that destroys our domestic economy, foists junk into our households, transfers our jobs to other countries and overall are just bad for America.

Worst of all, we think we are buying friends with these trade agreements. We aren't. We are buying contempt.

And then, of course, our balance of payments deficit will come back to bite us. It is debt and it is just a matter of time until we regret it.

No to these trade agreements. They aren't good for America.