Why CAFTA is Bad for you
The Dangers of the Central American Free Trade Agreement
AMERICAN BORDERS
TO BE DISMANTLED
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Residents of U.S. understand the Negative Impact of CAFTA on their Jobs
Statement of Gabriela Lemus, League of United Latin American Citizens
Thank you for the opportunity to share my organization’s views on the proposed Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). I submit my statement for the record.
With approximately 115,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic Organization in the United States. LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide. The organization involves and serves all Hispanic nationality groups.
LULAC strongly supports enhanced economic opportunities for Hispanic Americans, and we have been supporters of trade agreements in the past, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) over a decade ago. Today, however, we oppose the expansion of NAFTA to five additional Central American countries and the Dominican Republic through CAFTA.
Eleven years ago, we were promised that NAFTA would offer economic gains for U.S. Latinos and development for Mexico, that NAFTA side agreements would help raise labor and environmental standards on both sides of the border, and that substantial funds would be provided for U.S.-Mexico border clean-up efforts.
None of these promises have been kept. Instead, Hispanics have been disproportionately negatively impacted by these trade agreements. All told, nearly a million U.S. jobs have been lost in the United States due to NAFTA trade. The tragedy for Hispanics is that, according to a Government Accountability Office study, in some years as many as half of the workers displaced by NAFTA trade have been Hispanics, as Hispanics have consistently accounted for more of the Trade Adjustment Assistance certifications than their share of the U.S. population. Moreover, Hispanics have shared in the experience of most U.S. working families in seeing the median real wage scarcely grow since the 1970s, while productivity has grown over 80 percent and income inequality has skyrocketed.
The deterioration of economic opportunity has extended to the other side of the border as well. In Mexico, 1.5 million farmers have been thrown off of their land as a result of NAFTA trade, while the Mexican minimum wage has lost nearly a fifth of its value and industrial wages a tenth of theirs. Mexicans’ income growth has been particularly disappointing, not even a third of what they had prior to their period of trade liberalization. The real tragedy for development is that if the Mexican economy had continued to grow at its historic pace, Mexicans would have doubled their living standard by now and enjoyed near European living standards. CAFTA would replicate the same anti-development model.
At a minimum, LULAC and others that supported NAFTA were promised that any damage that might come about as a result of the agreement would be mitigated by the pact’s labor and environmental side agreements. But these side agreements were left severely under funded and were never given real enforcement power. In short, they lacked the teeth to truly help improve and ensure the quality of life on both sides of the border.
The results of the San Diego-Tijuana Environmental Health Coalition’s (EHC) landmark case concerning the Mexican government’s refusal to clean up toxic waste left by an abandoned Tijuana factory, Metales y Derivados, is instructive. EHC’s claim was processed and won through the adjudication procedures of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC), which was created by NAFTA’s environmental side agreement.However, despite the ruling, the NAFTA side agreement commission could not compel the cleanup of the more than 7,000 tons of toxic waste, which still lie exposed to the elements just a mile from the U.S. border. There have been a series of cases under NAFTA’s investment rules in which corporations have been awarded cash compensation from governments based on claims of violations of their NAFTA-granted investor rights. In contrast, the only outcome of EHC’s citizens-claim was a report from the commission acknowledging that there had been a violation, with no other result or penalty.
Other examples of NAFTA failure abound. The North American Commission on Labor Cooperation (NACLC), the tri-national NAFTA body that was supposed to ensure that countries enforced their own labor laws, never received its full funding. In fact, out of the $2 million a year in U.S. contributions that was authorized to be appropriated in the NAFTA implementing legislation, only a third was ever actually disbursed. This is a real tragedy given that even the authorized amount was woefully insufficient. Furthermore, the labor side agreement had such a cumbersome process for getting a review of labor rights violations that, as of today, 30 submissions has been made under the labor agreement, none of which have made it past the earliest stages of review, report and intergovernmental consultation. Not a single illegally fired worker has been reinstated, not a single independent union has been established and bargained collectively, and not a single workplace hazard has been corrected as a result of NAFTA and the NACLC.
Things were not much better for the NAFTA promises made for the border environment. Estimates for clean-up on the U.S.-Mexico border range from $8 to 21 billion, or six times the entire capital of the North American Development Bank (NADBank), established as a part of the NAFTA implementing legislation. But even the minimal promise was not kept. In fact, the U.S. Treasury Department reports that the NADBank had only directly loaned $23.5 million in low-interest loans to finance projects over its first seven years of operation, and disbursed only $11 million of that money – or less than 0.4 percent of its lending capacity – in large part because of the inability of impoverished border communities to afford the high interest rates and user fees.
The promise that NADBank would dedicate ten percent of its capital to helping communities adjust to trade was also dramatically broken, as the bank’s domestic adjustment window has made direct loans totaling only $7.84 million, or just over two percent of the $300 million envisaged.
It is this history of failure to achieve the minimum of what was promised that informs LULAC’s opposition to CAFTA. These unsuccessful policies have led to a doubling of undocumented migration to the United States from Mexico since NAFTA was enacted, and increased U.S. border policing and militarization that have led to more than 2,700 deaths from failed border crossings in desperate attempts to seek the American dream. We are concerned that CAFTA will preclude and prevent real and much needed economic and social development.
In this regard, one ought to notice CAFTA’s enhanced monopoly protection for brand name pharmaceuticals, a provision which led the U.S. administration to directly pressure Guatemala to rescind a public health law expanding access to generic, low cost medicines. For many of the Central American countries, who experience relatively high rates of infant mortality and exposure to infectious diseases, such a provision is morally unacceptable.
We are also concerned that the welfare of women, children and their families will be worsened under a CAFTA. Human Rights Watch has amply documented the labor standards of Central American countries, which fail to meet ILO standards and include instances of child labor on sugar plantations and the abuse of pregnant women in the export processing zones. LULAC has consistently spoken out against the abuses against women in the maquila industry on the U.S.-Mexico border, where violence and even disappearances of women have soared since NAFTA has taken place. The toothless labor provisions of CAFTA – like those of NAFTA before them – will hinder the efforts of civil and human rights groups to seek meaningful solutions to these problems.
In short, LULAC believes that what Hispanics need is economic opportunity, and what Latin America needs is development. There is no evidence that this model of trade agreement, nor its side accords, have contributed in any way towards attaining this goal in the past, and there is no reason to think it would do so in the future with Central America. The track record is clear: the NAFTA/ CAFTA model has failed.
Finally, much has been made about CAFTA serving as a lifeboat for the Central American textile and apparel industry in the face of enhanced Chinese competition in following the global quota expiration. We know that the U.S., Mexican and Central American industries have indeed already lost much production to Asia. This loss will continue due to China’s cost advantage – even after one accounts for shipping and tariff costs – over other regions. The NAFTA/ CAFTA model does nothing to change this reality. It offers a promise which it can never fulfill.
Central America already has duty-free access to the U.S. market under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), and in CBI there are stronger incentives to use the U.S. inputs that Hispanics in the U.S. textile industry help produce, along with stronger mechanisms to force labor standards improvements in Central American countries. While some have suggested that the ability of the United States to impose safeguards on Chinese imports offers a relative advantage to the Central American apparel industry, U.S. law allows these to be applied only until 2008. The anti-development bias in the NAFTA/ CAFTA model, however, would last forever.
After three lost decades in terms of real gains in U.S. family incomes and Latin American growth rates, the cause of economic development and civil rights are best served
without more of the same under CAFTA.
Getting involved in Politics
How Congress harms the American People
and constantly works against Freedom and against the Middle Classes of All Nations
CAFTA - The Politics (& Hidden Agenda) of CAFTA - Pulling out the stops...to oppress you
We Posted the Bill, but you should keep a few things in mind about Politics in Washington
This will take a few moments to read. Actually make an effort to do this, since it is your Freedom, your vitamins, your job, and Your Children that Congress is putting at risk.
1. For the Record, we want to welcome those who are new to the political process. We appreciate that you are finally waking up to the impact of Politics on your own life and the life of your children. The only way to preserve your country and your Freedom is to become involved, and to do so Frequently. Politicians DO listen to the people, especially when those people are consistent on certain issues.
2. The Vast Majority of Americans are AGAINST Free-Trade Deals. The reason is that Most Americans now understand that "Free Trade" actually means "Slave Trade".
Free Trade is the process of re-defining terms, legal concepts and international agreements in a manner that Force Middle Class people to compete against the Slave Wages of Totalitarian States and Third World Economies.
3. It is Not true that the Fortune 500 companies produce most of the American Wealth. They produce much less than most of the small and medium businesses. But Fortune 500 companies (amazon link) can afford to hire dozens and dozens of lobbyists and to help politicians get re-elected. This is what those Multinational companies (amazon link) do, and the only way to compete against them is by NUMBERS, actually getting the NUMBER of people who are opposed to their policies to stand up and Remind Congressmen and Senators that the people actually VOTE.
4. Multinational companies will promise the moon in order to get their own agendas enacted into law and legislation. Most of them ALREADY have huge tax advantages, that disregard the process of investing in the country and in the community in which they are located. Most Multinationals also constantly work against Human Rights and Free Speech.
5. A Trade Pact or Trade Agreement is usually nothing more than ensuring the continued Monopoly of immense corporations by garanteeing the continuation of their monopolies. Their goals - the most recent ones - is to run through the globe, exploiting the National Population of each country, and using them to extract profits at the expense of the people. The SAME corporations that used the Maquilladoras process on the US-Mexico Border where the workers had no rights and were essentially slaves to the corporations...are the same corporations (amazon link) that now want to do the same thing to Latin America and Central America...and ALSO Cause Americans to lose their own jobs in the process.
6. The White House (presidential branch) is owned by Corporate and Multinational Corporate Interests. These International Treaties are being protected and helped by
1. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and
2. The Department of Commerce
7. It used to be that Government Agencies would help and serve the people. Now, Most government agencies actually hire lobbyists, pay them with taxpayer money, and try to influence policy and legislation so that Bureaucratic Accountability is REMOVED. Bureaucrats are actually using your money to Lobby AGAINST you !
8. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce are the ones Most responsible for GATT, NAFTA, CAFTA, and WTO, and Codex Alimentarius Implementing Legislation. These agencies work AGAINST the U.S. and Against American Citizens.
9. Most people think that these agreements are about Jobs (Americans Losing their jobs) and Wealth (Corporate Monopolies). Don't Forget:
International Agreements and Treaties are about HEALTH, your PHYSICAL HEALTH.
- Most of these treaties have provisions that waive environmental controls and standards, and that waive INSPECTION of Poultry, Waive Inspection of Beef if each shipment is just under Two Tons, and Waive requirements to NOT use certain pesticides in Food Production. These issues affect each and every American on a Personal Basis, for decades and decades.
10. The Way that Washington Works is that when the White House wants to make a deal, they agree to either remove Offending legislative SECTIONS, or to Change them. That way, the Congressman can say that he/she voted for the "Ammended" Treaty.
This is - in 99% of the cases - simply a way to trick the voter. Yes, the Sections are removed. But about six months down the road, that same "removed" section is attached to a DIFFERENT Bill in Congress, and then becomes part of the Final Legislation and the Final Treaty in anycase.
That way - The Senator/Rep. gets to SAY
that they voted to take out certain provisions, but then they OMIT
the fact of having included that same language and legislation in a DIFFERENT
Bill. The ONLY way to defeat that...is to have the Legislators vote AGAINST the ENTIRE
TREATY / FREE TRADE AGREEMENT...UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.
Remember what Free Trade really Means:
It means that as the Global Corporations TRADE, YOU will work for FREE.
11. Each Congress progressively makes things more complicated. But there are more and more people who are getting involved. But with each piece of legislation that works AGAINST the interests of Middle-Class Americans, once the legislation is passed, it is VERY difficult to get repealed. It is Much Easier to defeat the legislation BEFORE it takes effect, than AFTER it has passed.
12. The Most Effective way to reach a Congressman (generic sense of use) is by FAX. IF you write letters, they never make it to the Congressmen because they are scanned. That's right: For "security reasons", you own representative can't read your actual mail. And even when they do read the scanned version, the fact of the scanning actually DELAYS your letter from reaching them.
The Next best is to call them. But the Actual Best it to call them up, tell them you are for or against legislation, tell them you want to know HOW they plan to VOTE, and then ask them for their FAX number. Then, sit down, and handwrite a letter to Fax them, explaining simply why you are opposed to the legislation.
13. Those of you who think that you will find a "smoking gun" in CAFTA are Dreaming. You need to understand how legislation works. There are some things in it, but many of the provisions are disguised. The most blatant example of a problem in CAFTA is where the CAFTA legislation keeps discussing the issue of Cars, Vehicles, Automotive Production, etc. The implication is that they are going to try to set up car factories outside of the U.S,, pay those people slave wages - and use that to compete with China.
14. The reason why CAFTA should be opposed is that it is one more piece that erodes the Sovereignty and the BORDERS of the USA.
IT TAKES BORDERS TO MAKE A COUNTRY !!!
CAFTA also further gives the WTO (World Trade Organization) additional control over the lives of Americans and allows an unelected body of Bureaucrats to Run the lives of Most Americans.
CAFTA is not only its own Treaty or Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA is a legislative package designed to Implement more of the WTO and NAFTA package that already has become Law.
15. Don't expect your congressman to tell you the truth about how he/she voted. Let them know that you will follow up and look up their vote in the congressional record, or to find their public statement of OPPOSITION to CAFTA.
16. Some people expect to find provisions in CAFTA about Codex Alimentarius. The Bureaucrats and United Nations employees are Much more sophisticated than this. Here is how the process works:
A. The United Nations designated the WTO (World Trade Organization) as the bureaucrats who will control All Trade (amazon link) and Commerce on the Planet.
B. The World Trade Organization designated a Different Agency to set up, establish, monitor and Control the Global production and Distribution of Food, (amazon link) Supplements, Food Supplements and Vitamins
C. The World Trade Organization designated the Organization "Codex Alimentarius" to decide matters of Nutrition and health for YOU and Your family, regardless of your concerns or your agreement, or your specific medical condition.
D. Thanks to NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and WTO legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, the United States agreed to GIVE UP SOVEREIGNTY in the area of Trade and Commerce (amazon link) and to be BOUND by the terms decided by the World Trade Organization. [the U.S. Congress passed NAFTA and WTO in 1994]
[The Main Goals of WTO are three:
1. to ensure the continued monopoly of the largest corporations on the planet and EXPAND their control, and
2. To erode the laws and rights of Americans that are making it difficult for these corporations to control even MORE.
3. To destroy all documents and laws that stand in their way (such as the Bill of Rights / Constitution/ etc). ]
E. Codex Alimentarius matters because it is ALREADY an established agency of the UNITED NATIONS, the WTO and NAFTA. There are Additional mechanisms for Control in CAFTA, but the process of gaining control over the U.S. Food Supply and Vitamins & Supplements, will continue in Anycase.
F. The U.S. Has the power to withdraw from Any Treaty it wishes to. It takes 6 months or less to do this, when they want. So the idea that just because WTO has passed Congress or just because NAFTA has passed - that these treaties cannot be repealed ...is NONSENSE.
G. SENATOR LUGAR (Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate) despises the Sovereignty of the U.S. and the sovereignty of Its citizens. It is SENATOR LUGAR who ALSO has been working to implement and pass the LAW of the SEA Treaty, which would transfer much of the U.S. Navy to the Control of the United Nations. This Senator should be contacted by Fax and asked to Vote - in favor of the American People. SENATOR LUGAR - Rhodes Scholar - is a longtime Anti-American Socialist. He is an "Institutional Statist" who loves large Coporations and Corporate Monopolies. SENATOR LUGAR and has voted over and over to introduce and support NAFTA, CAFTA and every other International Treaty. No Matter what the Treaty, if it HURTS the Average American, SENATOR LUGAR - Rhodes Scholar - will support all legislation that accomplishes this. Sen Grassley, ( Chuck) is also Very Reponsible for CAFTA.
Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1401
(202) 224-4814
(202) 228-0360 fax
senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
For Those who care about
Codex Alimentarius , they should keep in
mind that SENATOR LUGAR
- Rhodes Scholar - is a member and former Chairman of the Senate Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry Committee
Just look up his TWENTY YEAR voting record. He has been trying to get the U.S. to give up MORE sovereignty to the United Nations by Passing the Law of the Sea Treaty [LOST] to force the U.S. to place its military assets under the Control of the United Nations.
H. These Treaties must be opposed - Both NOW AND in the Future. The next one after CAFTA, is FTAA, the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
This is barely on the Horizon. It was decided by the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The FTAA was negotiated between 33 countries, including the U.S. and will take effect in December 2005, unless it is stopped.
I. These Senators and Congressmen understand that the American people are waking up to how much DAMAGE these Congressmen have done to our country and how much control and sovereignty has already been eroded and given away. They are Afraid that the American people will find out. The problem is not only the Democrats or Republicans but BOTH parties.
BOTH Parties work against Average Americans. If you Stay on their case, and learn to make your voice heard, You have a Chance to have a free country where you will still have rights.
Make Your Voice Heard. IT is NOT ENOUGH to Actually Find out ABOUT CAFTA. You must let your congressman know that the CAFTA agreement/treaty is bad and should be opposed and Voted Down.
J. Only YOU who Vote and Call - in your district - can make the difference. No One Else can do this for you. The Truth is that One Person Can Make a Difference, and those in Congress know this, and that is what scares them.
Make your voice heard. Use your phones & Fax Machine.
Arlen Specter (D-PA)
711 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
(202) 228-1229 fax (prefers email or phone)
Web Form: specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInfo.Home
Chuck Grassley, IA
135 Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC
(202) 510-1501
(202) 224-3744 fax
Web form: grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Senator Lugar Fake Republican - RINOs - Republican In Name Only
Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1401
(202) 224-4814
(202) 228-0360 fax
senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
Lugar In Favor of CAFTA
LUGAR IN FAVOR OF CAFTA
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Biased Press Release by Lugar
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar reaffirmed his support of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement
(DR-CAFTA) in advance of the vote scheduled tonight.
“Over the past 15 years, Central America has made major strides toward fulfilling its people’s commitment to building secure and prosperous societies. The United States has a historic opportunity to consolidate this transformation and at the same time serve its own economic, political and security interests in the Americas,” said
Lugar.
The DR-CAFTA region is the 2nd largest U.S. export market in Latin America, behind only Mexico. The U.S. exports more than $15 billion annually to the region, making it America’s 10th largest export market worldwide. Currently 80 percent of products from Central America and the Dominican Republic already enter the U.S. duty-free due to unilateral preference programs such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative
(CBI) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
DR-CAFTA would provide reciprocal access for U.S. products and services to Central America.
Securing greater market access and ease of entry into new markets will provide substantial new opportunities for American companies. The Farm Bureau Federation estimates
DR-CAFTA could expand U.S. farm exports, including Indiana products such as corn, soybeans and pork, by $1.5 billion a year.
In Lugar’s home state of Indiana, exports to the DR-CAFTA countries totaled $65 million in 2004 and have increased by $22.7 million or 54 percent since 2003. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce, manufactured goods, including plastics products, machinery, pharmaceuticals and medicines, accounted for 93 percent of Indiana’s merchandise exports to the
DR-CAFTA region.
The Department of Commerce analysis also notes that Indiana exports were spurred by past trade agreements. In the first year of the U.S.-Chile
FTA, Indiana’s exports to Chile grew by 20 percent. Since the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) was signed in 1993, Indiana’s combined exports to Canada and Mexico have increased by more than 188 percent.
“Moreover, agreements such as DR-CAFTA must be part of the long-term solution to the problem of illegal immigration in the United States. Central Americans seek opportunities for advancement or survival in the United States because they lack real job opportunities at home. This is an unsustainable situation, and to change it, Central America’s economies must grow rapidly and diversify,” added
Lugar.
“Not only will DR-CAFTA significantly benefit our domestic economy, but also our global
outlook. It presents an important opportunity to reinforce fragile new democracies with long-lasting development, a worthy goal which is also in the best of interests of the United States,” Lugar said.
Source: Fair Use/ http://lugar.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=240047
Bush Continues Anti-Sovereignty Push with CAFTA - Bush Continues Anti-Sovereignty Push with CAFTA -
White House Barters for Trade Pact Votes
WSJ - 7/25 - The measure cleared the Senate on a 54-45 vote in June,
after the administration cut a handful of
side deals -- such as a pledge to New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman to boost spending on labor-rights enforcement -- to help ease passage. But support lags significantly in the House, with informal counts suggesting it falls about 25 votes short of what is needed to ensure passage.
"Members of Congress simply will not associate their names and political futures with expansion of the Nafta trade model that most of the public views as a damaging failure," says Lori
Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, one of several advocacy groups fighting
Cafta. (Nafta is the North American Free Trade Agreement.) Members of the National Farmers Union blanketed Capitol Hill last week, arguing that small family farms will be hurt by
Cafta. AIDS activists are speaking out against provisions that tighten control of generic medicines in Cafta countries. The Citizens Trade Campaign, a coalition of labor, environmental, farm and faith-based groups, is running radio ads in the districts of wavering lawmakers that raise doubts about the benefits of free trade.
On the other side, free-trade business groups are pushing for Cafta, and administration officials are combing a "whip list" of more than 50 lawmakers who say their minds aren't made up. "It's full speed ahead," says
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who has met with some undecided members three or four times. He also has reached outside the Beltway, calling chief executives at
pro-Cafta companies and giving interviews to newspapers and radio stations in key states, with the goal of rallying grass-roots support. Daily strategy is plotted on 7:45 a.m. conference calls that bring together officials from the White House, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the departments of Commerce, Treasury, State and Agriculture.
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS / WTO/ CAFTA / FTAA ACTION PAGE
How to Fight Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex)
How to Fight NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA & WTO, Anti-Freedom Legislation
Get Real Information & Start Making a Difference
Click here to reach our CODEX ALIMENTARIUS/ CAFTA Action Page
The Hidden Agenda of the 
Law of the Sea
Treaty
Hidden Agenda of the United Nations
Credentials of the U.N. Law of the Sea Court Judges
Informal Procedures of the U.N: the case of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)
Law of the Sea Treaty Court (Tribunal)
Bush State Department still pushing for LOST Law of the Sea Treaty
Relevant BOOKS for those Interested:
Those with no background in the topics below may want to start here (short article: MECHANISMS OF CORPORATE RULE)
The relationship between CAFTA and the Global Corporations is that it is THEIR Legislation, FOR them and AGAINST the MIDDLE CLASS. Its hard to have both 1. slave wages AND 2. a Middle Class at the same time.
The Case Against Free Trade: Gatt, Nafta and the Globalization of Corporate Power
Exporting America : Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas by Lou Dobbs
Global Governance: Enhancing Trilateral Cooperation by The Trilateral Commission (more Here)
When Corporations Rule the World
Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy
(or take a look at this small piece on Environmental Agenda Setting)
The Paradox of American Democracy: Elites, Special Interests, and the Betrayal of the Public Trust
No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants Are Reshaping American Democracy
Indeed, the growth of the middle class-one of the underpinnings of democracy in this country-has been reversed. By government action.
Taken as a whole, these are results of the rules that govern the game:
Question: Is your Point of View "Right" or "Left" ?
We don't care about labels. We care about truth and facts, and believe that many sides have many pieces of the political truth about what is happening in the world. We are against large Multinational corporations that harm the people, impovrish countries, and destroy the middle classes. Our point of view is in believing in the Average American, and in the Integrity of the American Worker. We support the Middle Class, and government that stays out of the way of the People, and that will stop expanding and expanding and expanding its power, and its reach and its goals. We cannot be in favor of multinational and globalist agreements that are designed either to hurt America or the American Worker or the Family (meaning Dad, Mom and the kids) - or that are designed to continue to harm and erode American Sovereignty because the politicians find the will of the people to be something which is "inconvenient".
"Left" and "right" are simply ways that Congressmen, their handlers and P.R. people attempt to divide the American People and get them to work against each other. The fact is that almost everyone is a Libertarian...in the sense that in their own home, they want to do whatever THEY chose, and they do not want Congress or anyone else telling them What to do, especially as long as it does not hurt anyone else. So basically everyone is born a Libertarian, regardless of what they call themselves. Most people also want a Fair Chance, The opportunity of a LEVEL playing field to guarantee the Freedom of Opportunity, where they can have and live their dreams or make the attempt. These Slave-Trade deals - disguised as Fair -Trade, are nothing more than the attempts of Corporations to permanently make you poor and turn you and your family and to turn us all into economic slaves.
No, we are not making this up. Many of those same corporations actually ran the slave trade and worked to implement that. Many of those same corporations fought against legally limiting the working day, and had decades and decades of forcing people to work for 12 to 14 hrs in very unsafe conditions. Many of these corporations also forced CHILDREN to work as near slaves until the 1920s, and they STILL DO in other countries. These Corporations work and make deals in countries that STILL have slave trade...to this day [yes - in 2005]. They try to "wine and dine" congressmen, and offer them almost anything in order to work against the PEOPLE that sent them to Washington.
Their legislative efforts should be opposed through all lawful mean, and there are MANY Things that American can do to constrain, restrain, and curtail the power of these corporations.
There is no "one piece" of legislation that can be opposed. Most of them have to be opposed and to be opposed continuously. It is a long process. But liberty - a small amount of it - is all that remains with which to fight. If we do not use it to stand up, there will soon be no liberty left, and no country either.
"FREE TRADE": as the Global Corporations TRADE, YOU will work for FREE
Fight the movement of "Corporate Supremacy"
