Trade Agreements Threaten American Jobs

Here are a few select unemployment statistics from February 20157.1% Chicago, IL.
7.2% NYC, NY
7.3% Philadelphia, Pa.
8.1% Allentown, Pa.
8.4% Balimore, MD.
10.6% Newark, N.J.
12.5% Detriot, MI
5.5% overall in the United States

Unemployment ranges from a low in Nebraska to the two highest Nevada & the District Of ColumbiaThe year I graduated in 1966 the national unemployment rate was 3.8%. Lower then it's been over the last 45 years.

While some of the unemployment is attributable to automation there's not a doubt in my mind trade deals made since that time have a lot to do with the social and economic problems we face today. Starting in the early 70's trade really took off between China and Japan here in the United States. Then in 1994 came along the biggest impact through our signing of the 'North American Free Trade Agreement' (NAFTA). It's been a bumpy ride for American workers ever since, but nothing like we might experience in the future with this current 'Trans-Pacific Partnership' (TPP) agreement.

According to 'Expose The TPP.org' take on this.."After NAFTA, thousands of U.S. manufacturing firms closed their doors, fired hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers, and relocated just across the Mexican border so as to take advantage of the low wages in Mexico's maquiladora zone.

While this shift initially created hundreds of thousands of jobs in Mexico, many of those jobs soon evaporated when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), inviting the corporations that had off-shored to Mexico to shutter their factories and relocate again to China, where wages and labor protections were even lower.

Vietnam, one the TPP negotiating countries, is considered the low-cost labor alternative to even China. Independent labor unions are illegal in Vietnam and workers are paid about one-third to one-half of what Chinese workers are paid. The TPP would pit U.S. workers against Vietnam's underpaid and repressed workforce, perpetuating the race to the bottom."I hesitated to do a copy/paste but felt they could explain this much better then I. Check out their informative PDF for some of the more gruesome details. It's worth a look.

If your not much into reading check out this video of Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking on the Senate floor 02/26/2015..


The Point Is..
We could argue back and forth all day why poor neighborhoods are in turmoil. Or about raising the minimum wage. Or why workers & new graduates can't find decent wages. Or why Social Security/pensions and other social programs are in the soup. At the end of the day it all boils down to not having enough well paying jobs and plenty of them.

No matter which side of the political aisle, both have been selling out American workers with these UNFAIR trade agreements. To me it's no mystery how the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. Imagine how much better off our inner cities would be if we manufactured more clothes, footwear, electronics and a whole host of other products within our downtowns like we once did.

People who are too busy working and making money don't have time to protest.
People who are too busy working and making money don't rent or lease.. they buy
People who are too busy working and making money can afford pensions & taxes that help support Social Security.
People who are too busy working and making money can send their kids to better schools.
People who are too busy working and making money can afford better medical care.
People who are too busy working and making money wouldn't qualify nor have need of taxpayer handouts.
People who are too busy working and making money don't risk losing their jobs tangling with the law.

I could go on and on with the list, but almost the entire solution to what ails there are in this country depend on people having the hope and ability to raise themselves up. The only way that can be done is through jobs. These so-called free trade agreements are stifling not only our economy but peoples' hopes and dreams right along with them.

Ross Perot 1992


See Also:Food Imports to United States Soar under WTO-NAFTA Model, Threatening American Farmers and Safety
Why Are We Importing Our Own Fish?
Flood of food imported to U.S., but only 2 percent inspected
US now importing shrimp raised on feces and harvested by inhumane slave labor
The US Is the World’s Largest Producer of Corn, So Why Are We Importing More?

MY OWN POST ON 02/17/2013: American Labor Meet Your Competition