Free Trade-The Corporate/International free ride is over

I am a little behind in reading The Nation but William Greider’s November 4, 2010 article “The End of Free-Trade Globalization” was excellent and I recommend everyone make the effort to delve into the heady language of international free market economics.  Here is the link:  http://www.thenation.com/article/155848/end-free-trade-globalization

This is not “news” for anyone who has been paying even slight attention over the past 30 years but international “free” trade was a bad idea with only one ending.  Sadly we are living the ending right now, watching the erosion of the American middle class and the United States as a global economic powerhouse.  We are tapped out-literally.  Out of work, drowning in personal debt, buying that new “made in China” television is probably not high on our collective Christmas list.  Those of us lucky enough to have jobs are thinking about saving, whether it is a mattress or sock (may as well since putting money into the banks is a waste of –well, money and feeds the monster, adding insult to injury.) 

But I digress. William Greider has identified some clear causes of our current predicament and has also pointed to necessary actions to pull us back from the brink of a global depression.  International free trade got us into this pickle.  Follow the money.  If international companies like GE and Intel are free to take production to the cheapest labor country, for example – China, and market those products back to the US with no penalty, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that eventually there won’t be enough people left in the US with jobs that pay enough to afford those products.  Free trade cheer leaders like Thomas Friedman seem to believe that the US has some kind of techno-magic wand that can create new jobs on demand.  But China has sucked the technological genie out of our great international corporations who had to sell their souls to the Chinese to get manufacturing access to cheap labor.  They now hold the technological advantage while the corrosive rhetoric of conservative politicians (read all Republicans and many Dems) is rapidly destroying public education and other social programs that support our children and our future. 

William Greider points out that this is a global problem that requires global solutions but other countries who all have trade surpluses with the US are not going to be the ones to take economic hits unless the US moves first.  He even quotes former Intel CEO Andrew Grove, who urges the government to impose taxes on products made with off-shore labor and “use the money to help other US companies scale up production at home,” ie create jobs.  “If the result is a trade war, treat it like other wars—fight to win,” Grove says.

Greider also points out that US international companies have had a free ride not enjoyed by companies anywhere else in the world.  “They harvest public money as subsidies and investment capital, they are protected by US armed forces and diplomacy, and they are rescued when they get into trouble.  It is a one-way relationship…”  He points out that the US must start treating these companies like any other business would, through imposing contracts for subsidies that have enforceable requirements for national production and national loyalty.  The US should also impose social/environmental taxes on products made in other countries that do not have social justice and environmental protection built into their production processes.  These measures would result in higher costs here at home but they might also provide the jobs that would allow Americans to purchase those products.

I do not pretend to think that these ideas, in and of themselves, are some sort of magic elixir that will turn the country around.  There are questions that Mr. Greider does not address, such as what about that big debt load we have with China – will they try to hold the US hostage because we are so deep in debt to them?  Part of me feels that every country and every international company knows that Grieder’s basic scenario is right.  There is no easy way out of this unless all countries work together to rebuild the US middle class.  Otherwise, there will be no one to buy that fancy TV.  The only way out of this mess is through leadership from the US government.  But so far, it does not look promising.

Message to Democrats

There is a great column in today's LA Times by Michael Hilzik that ponders the conundrum of the Democratic party cowering before the tawdry lies and babbling of the Republican propaganda machine.  I recommend that everyone take a look at it.  Michael presents a wonderful juxtaposition of the strength of FDR who stood up to his critics fiercely and brilliantly, pointing to the 9 years of Republican laissez faire non-government before the great depression and the years of misery that followed.  To my mind, the situation is very comparable to what we face today after 8 years of aggressive Republican attacks on government regulation of just about everything-  need I mention Katrina, the Bill of Rights, or the fact that in 2000, after 8 years of Democratic government, the country was not in debt but after one year of Bush Republican rule we were awash in red ink thanks to tax gifts to the wealthy - which the Republicans want to extend.  How is this sane in anyone's mind? The Democrats should have a field day with this one, yet they are huddling in corners making conciliatory noises at the bombastic trumpeting of the Republican paper chimera.  One swat would blast this ridiculous creature to pieces.  Come on Democrats!  Stand Up And Fight!  So, the Republicans have the millionaires on their side.  We have everyone else!  Let's send a message to President Obama - "Stop playing nice while the country is drowning!"

Climate Change

Last night I watched Al Gore's movie, Inconvenient Truth again.  Even though it was made in 2005, its message was just as powerful, if not more so, today.  Many scientists now believe that we have passed the point where we can roll back the clock and avoid major global weather changes. (see Stan Cox article.)  Does that mean we should just turn our backs and go about our wasteful ways-giving up on future generations?  The corporate power structure has a vested interest in our doing just that and have spent billions of dollars trying to convince people that there is no agreement about climate change, that it is a "theory" or a "climategate" hoax perpetrated by crazy liberals.  These people are playing a very dangerous game with our lives and our children's lives in order to protect the status quo and their own wealth streams.  My concern is that too many people have fallen for their lies and misinformation.  The mainstream media continues to trumpet their lies as facts or legitimate scientific arguments.  The vast majority of true scientists believe that we are causing dangerous atmospheric increases in greenhouse gases which will have catastrophic climate effects on Earth and all live.  Do we want to take the risk that the climate change deniers are right when there is no legitimate science supporting any of their arguments?  Watch Al Gore's movie again - and then do something to make a difference to save our Earth.

Wikileaks

There has been a great deal of outgassing concerning the rights, wrongs and wherefores of the wikileaks "leaks" of multitudes of US diplomatic emails displaying our State Department in a less than flattering light. (see Joshua Hollands article) Indeed, they appear to be a bunch of crude, unprofessional bumblers.  Of course, when one looks at the reality of our effectiveness as a world leader, pick your subject, this comes as no surprise.  Now we are seeing the kneejerks in congress salivating over the need to control (read shut down at will) the internet and people's ability to express their free speech rights.  If this does happen, we, the people, lose again.  Whether you agree with Wikileaks is not the point.  There are many, many websites on the internet that I do not agree with or would never visit but that doesn't mean that I feel they should be shut down by the "Coyote Girl" judge of what is "appropriate" material for the internet.  The issue of Wikileaks is not that some embarrassing material was disclosed that exposes our unprofessional State Department in their nakedness.  It is about free speech, pure and simple.  If we lose the right to a freely accessible and freely usable internet, we lose our freedom as people, period!  Maybe the fact that the State Department now knows that their unprofessional behavior could be exposed will force them to a higher level of honesty and trustworthiness which would not be a bad thing.