"It's good for business and it's good for the American worker"--CAFTA

[Skidmore]

This fallacious logic is the snake oil that free traders have successfully sold the American citizen throughout NAFTA and its inception. The idea that what constitutes a source of profit for business is equally beneficial to the worker is just plain hooey. Just heard it again in press conference given by Congress people and the groups that support unfettered free trade.

[bluestateguy]

1. I'm proud to be a protectionist

I make no apologies for wanting to protect American jobs.

The economists and the Wall Street analysts can take their charts and graphs and stick them in my paper shredder.

[cthrumatrix]

2. ignorance of the American people is required for this to pass

[liberal N proud]

3. Do you think the experiences from NAFTA will be enough

for the American people to say STOP CAFTA?

[alkaline9]

7. ignorance of the American people helped...

...BushCo get an 8 year vacation AND business venture for all his friends. And with ignorant politicians saying things like gay sex is like dog-human sex, I wouldn't put it past 'Mericans.

[rman]

4. to prove your point: AP: U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports

(even though this isn't exactly new)

LancasterOnline.com
http://ap.lancasteronline.com/6/free_trade_studies

AP: U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports
By Larry Margasak
Associated Press Writer

Published: Jun 29, 2005 1:09 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Labor Department worked for more than a year to maintain secrecy for studies that were critical of working conditions in Central America, the region the Bush administration wants in a new trade pact.

The contractor hired by the department in 2002 to conduct the studies has become a major opponent of the administration's proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA.

The government-paid studies concluded that countries proposed for free-trade status have poor working environments and fail to protect workers' rights. The department dismissed the conclusions as inaccurate and biased, according to government and contractor documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

The Senate Finance Committee, which approved the agreement by a voice vote Wednesday, sent it to the full Senate for consideration this week or after the Independence Day recess.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

—

On the net:

http://wid.ap.org/documents/cafta/index.html

http://www.laborrights.org/

http://www.dol.gov/

©2004 The Associated Press

[Moderator]

8. rman

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[rman]

10. sorry about that

i will be more carefull

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Why We "Need" CAFTA

Three words:

Gulf Coast Oil.

--p!

[rman]

11. More broadly:

resources and cheap labor.

Though it isn't so much we who need it, but rather the robber barons who run the place.

[converted_democrat]

13. Could you explain what your saying there a little bit more clearly?

My rep's office is calling me back to "explain" why Cafta is a good idea. I'm trying to come up with rebuttals. Could you explain your comment, because I don't understand it and i would really like to.

[Dogmudgeon]

14. Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

There is a significant amount of deep-water oil to be drilled and pumped in the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the richest supplies of oil remaining on the Earth. It is easily-processed sweet light crude, but it is relatively difficult to get to. To do this will require a lot of capital, a lot of technical know-how, and a lot of stoop labor to make it all work, at a "non-zero" cost in human lives.

CAFTA will allow us to more easily exploit the citizens of the countries affected. If we had to use Americans, we'd have to pay a decent wage and ensure their safety. But Central Americans are accustomed to making $2 an hour for dangerous work, there are plenty of them, and most of them come from countries where they have no effective legal recourse against wealthy foreign businesses.

That's the argument in a nutshell. Good luck.

--p!

[converted_democrat]

16. Thank you, thank you so much.

Whenever I call my rep's office and try to disagree with what she's doing, they have this really snotty girl call me, and explain why the rep's position is good and I just don't fully "understand" the issue. This time I'm trying to perpare ahead of time.

Thank you.

[DiverDave]

6. The first part of that statement is true.

"It's good for business and it's good for the American worker"--CAFTA

The second part is the lie...

[Armstead]

17. Not even good for business -- It's bad for many bizes

Businesses who would prefer to compete honestly and contribute to the American economy are getting just as screwed by these phony trade agreements as everyone else.

[Deja Q]

12. WHY is it good for the American worker?

Only if it gave us jobs that allowed us to live a decent standard of living... which means products, food, and fuel would have to plummet in price. (and they won't.)

[Armstead]

15. Kick

Any constituents of wavering Dems or Repubs need to call your rep. Today's the big day, and it could be a close vote.