Congress's Betrayal of the American Worker

[FlyingSquirrel]

by Richard Backus

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19364.htm

While claiming to be attempting to increase the number of well-paying jobs in the U.S. (having created laws in the past explicitly designed to do this), the Congress has really been following a completely different course. Almost all recently passed laws have done just the opposite.

(snip)

There was no effort to carry out the intent of these Acts. They were passed to create an appearance that these goals were being pursued while congress passed laws which did just the opposite. "Gloabalization" was intended to allow American businessmen to replace American workers with low-priced foreign ones. Since American corporations own much of the foreign manufacturing businesses, a foreign worker is simply an employee of an American firm hired overseas to replace an American worker stateside. The congress threw in an added tax sweetener to further facilitate this giveaway.

NAFTA and CAFTA had the same intent. So much for "promoting" full employment for U.S. citizens. Immigration policy, legal and illegal as well, was designed to do the same. No real serious efforts were made to stop the border crossings. The proof of this is in the number of illegal immigrants who succeeded. Legal immigration in the high-tech sector was a fraud from the get-go. Businessmen simply wanted younger, less expensive, and more pliable employees. Those older native ones wanted to be fairly treated and paid appropriately for a highly-trained engineer. Again, it was the government that "legally" made this jobs giveaway possible. The age-discrimination laws were ignored and tons of young (inexperienced) but low-salaried foreigners came surging in.

The immigration laws themselves were violated from the very beginning, proof being that high-tech salary levels immediately took a big dip violating the law's requirement that immigrants were to be paid equal wages. When it was obvious that wages were falling, the congress did nothing.

(snip)

The public's inability or unwillingness to face up these betrayals will result in the destruction of the working class in the U.S. If the public does not protest, they will continue to get a government that no one deserves.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Obama and Clinton supported CAFTA. nt

[Donnachaidh]

2. yup. THAT should be shouted from the rooftops.

BOTH are NOT candidates of CHANGE.

[Phred42]

3. You're wrong - Both voted NAY

Roll Call

CAFTA HR3045 http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00209

CAFTA S1307 http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00170

[Captain Hilts]

4. I read some speeches they made. Interesting! I stand corrected. nt

[Phred42]

8. NP - I'm an Edwards suporter myself.

I'll vote for which ever of the Corporate Twins makes it.
Anything, even one of teh corporate Twins is better than any republican

[Captain Hilts]

5. The problem is slave wages in China, India and Indonesia. If Mexico were getting...

THAT many of our jobs, then they wouldn't all be heading up here in increasing numbers as they are.

It's very tough on people in trades who have seen their wages become stagnant because of the larger legal and illegal labor pool.

[trthnd4jstc]

6. Why such a push for globalization?

There is a conspiracy theory that the CFR (Council of Foreign Relations) is actually working for zero employment, I take this to mean that all of us in the Working Class are meant to die, and that they wish to have a world ruled by the Bankers. If this is the case, the CFR is guilty of Sedition! Globalization has weakened our economy, and the only ones it benefits, are the rich. Globalization, does not help out the majority of the Working Class in this country, and this is what should matter to our Representatives. I wish for noone to suffer, and struggle, but our representatives should be serving us first, and not the interests of the Large Corporations.

[Phred42]

7. They need to WIN the race to the Bottom

in order to destroy America. It is their goal