A brief note on the TPP
Yesterday's vote against Trade Promotion Authority was a solid blow against the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, though it's hard to say it's a mortal one -- these things have a way of being harder to kill than Dracula, and Republicans are already plotting to hold another vote in hopes of getting a different result. But it's still positive news.
I haven't followed the argument over the TPP closely, and I'm certainly no expert on such matters, but where economics and workers' interests are concerned, I have to give a lot of weight to the views of Elizabeth Warren and Paul Krugman. Yes, I know that "fast track" is how such deals have always been done in the past -- and maybe that's part of the problem. If business-as-usual is how we get things like NAFTA, then it's about time that business-as-usual was changed. Let's hope this is the beginning of the end of the relentless advance of economic globalization which always ends up benefiting only the bosses and investors, at the expense of the workers and the real economy.
I haven't followed the argument over the TPP closely, and I'm certainly no expert on such matters, but where economics and workers' interests are concerned, I have to give a lot of weight to the views of Elizabeth Warren and Paul Krugman. Yes, I know that "fast track" is how such deals have always been done in the past -- and maybe that's part of the problem. If business-as-usual is how we get things like NAFTA, then it's about time that business-as-usual was changed. Let's hope this is the beginning of the end of the relentless advance of economic globalization which always ends up benefiting only the bosses and investors, at the expense of the workers and the real economy.
posted by Infidel753 at 8:48 AM
6 Comments:
I'd like to know how we can continue to do business with China after it's been accused of hacking into government mainframes, not to mention, polluting the environment, hiring underage kids, and possibly/probably stealing technology. People who used to look forward to a career in manufacturing are now drug dealers and thieves because if you're not cut out for college, you have fewer options than previous generations did.
So far our only retaliation has been sending Christian missionaries, which is a start, but let's let the missionaries stay in China and bring back the jobs.
Good point. The revelation of the hack job will hopefully be yet another argument against the TPP. Why do we keep weakening ourselves to strengthen a clearly hostile regime?
Sending missionaries may seem harsh, but they asked for it, with all the toxic stuff they export here.
Perhaps group hymn-singing will help them clear their lungs from the toxic crap we no longer allow factories to produce here.
Except in the sense that hymns are toxic crap.....
David Frum wrote an interesting article (published in The Atlantic 6/12/15) that argues for the TPP. While not arguing for free trade (I think for trade to be free it must have some regulation) the article was fairly balanced. It is the topic of my post Saturday.
It's decent reading and regardless of ones trade position worth the read.
I haven't seen that -- but while Frum is nothing like as crazy as most conservatives these days, I think Warren and Krugman are much more trustworthy on the merits of a deal like this.
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