In These Times: "President Obama is promoting the loss of more U.S. jobs to low-wage sites overseas"

[Better Believe It]

Obama’s Free-Trade 'Victory' Betrays Workers, Human Rights
Obama’s Free-Trade Victory Threatens 2012 Prospects
By Roger Bybee
October 17, 2011

By orchestrating the passage of three NAFTA-style investor-rights agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, which passed Congress last week, President Barack Obama is promoting the loss of more U.S. jobs to low-wage sites overseas. He's also protecting Panama’s status as a tax haven for U.S. corporations and money-laundering center for drug traffickers, leaving untouched the Colombian elite’s murderous war against unionists and opening up U.S. laws and regulations to challenges from foreign corporations.

Moreover, by successfully pushing for the free-trade deals, President Obama further reinforced the belief of many voters that Democratic leaders cannot be trusted in the fight to protect America’s productive base against the forces of corporate globalization. He says he's focused on combating the flow of U.S. jobs to low-wage, high-repression nations, but the president's reversal in backing the three agreements follows the path trod by previous Democratic presidential candidates Bill Clinton and John Kerry, who both condemned free-trade policies on the campaigns trails and then supported them in practice.

.... following in the footsteps of Democratic President Bill Clinton, who promised tough “side agreements” to NAFTA to protect labor rigthts and environmental conditions in Mexico and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who memorably railed against “Benedict Arnold CEOs” who moved jobs abroad, Obama has reversed course and embraced the agenda of Corporate America.

In the House, the White House had to rely heavily on the votes of Republicans. Democrats like Michaud and many others expressed their fury at more trade agreements that will cost American jobs at a time of massive unemployment and undermine global standards for democracy and environmental protections.

Please read the full article at:

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12127/obamas_hollow_victory_on_trade_threatens_loyalty_of_base_2012_prospects/


-------------------------------------------



NEWS RELEASE
October 12, 2011
Contact: Bryan Buchanan [phone]

Job-Killing Trade Deals Pass Congress
Amidst Record Democratic Opposition
Obama and Tea Party Flip Flop on Fair Trade Campaign Commitments
Statement of Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch


With nine percent unemployment and Americans desperate for job creation, it is
unconscionable that President Obama and House Republicans would push through a trio of
NAFTA-style job-killing trade agreements that even the government’s own studies show will
increase the U.S. trade deficit.

This represents a complete flip-flop for President Obama, who won crucial swing states
by pledging to overhaul our flawed trade policies. So it is no surprise that a sizeable majority of
Democrats in Congress voted against these agreements, against Obama and for American jobs.

Today a larger share of House Democrats voted against a Democratic president on trade
than ever before. It took Bill Clinton nearly eight years of NAFTA job losses, sell outs and
scandals to have nearly two-thirds of the House Democrats vote against him on trade.
Given the strong Democratic opposition, ultimately it was the Tea Party GOP freshmen
who passed these job-killing deals despite their campaign commitments at home to stand up for
Main Street businesses, against more job offshoring and for Buy American requirements. The
three pacts explicitly ban Buy America procurement policies. The Korea FTA is projected to
increase the trade deficit, with seven U.S. industrial sectors hardest hit and job losses of 159,000
in its first seven years.

Members of Congress that voted for these job-killing agreements – backed by Wall Street
and America’s most notorious job-offshoring corporations and harmful to American workers,
small business and consumers – will face a reckoning as the damage of these pacts hits home.
We promise to closely track and publicize every development.

Everyone is asking what the Obama administration could have been thinking to push the
sorts of NAFTA-style trade deals that polls show majorities of Democrats, Independents and
even GOP voters oppose as job killers, especially after the lesson of the 1993 NAFTA vote,
when a Democratic president’s blurring of the distinctions between the parties on trade and jobs
caused a disgruntled base to stay home.

Every election cycle, more Democrats and GOP are campaigning against these sorts of
NAFTA-style trade pacts. Given this and the high unemployment rate, it will be very rough for
those officials who then betrayed folks at home and voted for these deals loved only by Wall
Street and job-offshoring corporations.

Record of Congressional Democratic Opposition to Democratic Presidents on Trade Pacts
- 82.3% of House Democrats opposed the Colombia FTA (158 Democrats against, 31 for)
- 67.7% of House Democrats opposed the Korea FTA (130 Democrats against, 59 for)
- 64,1% of House Democrats opposed the Panama FTA (123 Democrats against, 66 for)
- 60.6% of Democrats opposed NAFTA (1993)
- 35% opposed the WTO (1994)
- 65.56% opposed China PNTR (2000)

Record of Congressional Democratic Opposition to GOP Presidents on Trade Pacts
- 62.6% opposed the Chile FTA (2003)
- 62.14% opposed the Singapore FTA (2003)
- 41.3% opposed the Australia FTA (2004)
- 39.32% opposed the Morocco FTA (2004)
- 92.6% opposed the Central America Free Trade Agreement (2005)
- 40.4% opposed the Bahrain FTA (2005)
- 87.6% opposed the Oman FTA (2006)
- slightly more than half opposed the Peru FTA (2007)

###
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit public interest organization based in Washington, D.C. For
more information, please visit www.citizen.org

http://www.citizen.org/documents/gtw-statement-job-killing-trade-deals-pass-10-12-11.pdf

[Enrique]

1. the one thing the two parties could agree on

naturally,, it's something that will lose jobs, during a jobs emergency.

Thank God for OWS. :patriot:

[zacherystaylor]

2. Standard Operating Procedure

for all candidates that have the approval of the Mass Media and the oligarchies which is all the more reason why we need election reform that is controlled by members of the public and access to the media so that we can get more views across. the Mass Media shouldn't be monopolized by a small percentage of the public with the help of regulations made by corrupt politicians.

[RKP5637]

4. MSM in the US today reminds me of state media in totalitarian countries, not fully

there yet, but headed there, eventually, IMO if left unchecked. The difference here is many don't get it, as they listen to the crap propaganda that passes for investigative journalism ... and alternative sources are crowded out ...

[zacherystaylor]

6. Many are docile but

current activities are so absurd that some of them are waking up and actually thinking a little.

[RKP5637]

9. I hope so. I just don't get how so many can live disadvantaged in this

country and think, this is great. I just don't get it. So many have been bred to be docile lambs. Yeah, agree soooo much with you, the absurdity of current activities has gone way over the top. I get the sense too that some are finally waking up.

[FiveGoodMen]

3. Not on our side.

Obviously never was.

[RKP5637]

10. His agenda is rather bizarre "if" for "we the people." ... or, he has really really bad

advisers.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Yeah but, he's got our back.

:silly:

[msongs]

8. u need to chill the eff out, he's got this -> an angry scowl and cuss words lol nt

[FiveGoodMen]

11. ...to the wall!

[AmericaIsGreat]

7. Infuriating

How the hell can he possibly justify this crap?

[me b zola]

12. I don't understand! Does not compute

Haven't you heard? Obama is using the language of OWS! That must mean that anything he does is good for jobs and the American people. He's on our side! Quit bringing up facts that don't make Obama look good!

/sarc