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[Baobab]

Last edited Mon Feb 29, 2016, 02:20 AM - Edit history (1)

In 2009, Obama's first State of the Union message included a EDIT - better word is non-obvious- xxxhiddenxxx message telling the non-math challenged that Obamacare wasn't seriously intended to address the health care needs of the country and was only for appearances sake because "it had to be self supporting" and that basically meant it would fail, I think that was already clear by the first SOTU address (at least I saw this interaction loud and clear) and that portion of the address was actually intended to send that message, to his - (maybe donors- supporters but not the kinds we think of, or are) ...

I see an identical kind of signalling behavior at work in the recent USTR message about the WTO decision on solar power,

Obama Undermines Climate Efforts in Solar Trade Dispute


which is actually it seems to me less about India than about the US and protectionism, a very sensitive subject because Americans still havent been told about progressive liberalisation or GATS or the last 20 years of US trade policy, part of which are promises to liberalise services - trading jobs for market acess overseas in countries like india. They get jobs, we get cheap labor, they get money, but not a super lot of it.

These promises have been made quietly but they go back decades and the countries that have been on the receiving end of these promises want action, soon.

The message was directed at them to ignore Bernie and his talk about (WTO and TiSA and TPP and especially TiSA-prohibited protectionism that must seem discongruous. But its just to reassure them that - we're all (all the 99% - the bitter Americans he is contemptuous of) out of the loop because the trading away of American jobs and the pushing down to global norms of US wages is of course such a sensitive subject!

So Shhhh! Everything is under control! Thats just "democracy" in action... *wink* Even if Bernie were to WIN, WTO and the other secret deals render the issues moot

To be blunt- he could not DO any of the "economic stimulus" "New Deal" "health care", "public education" stuff he says because it would violate the deals rules..