Do Tire Duties Mean Public Option For Healthcare Or Not?

[Bolo Boffin]

In a signal on the fate of the public option in H.R. 3200, the Obama Administration today decided to impose tariffs on imported tires from China. China has already called the move protectionist and vows tough times at the upcoming G-20, but the United Steelworkers brought the complaint and Obama needs the negotiating room with pro-labor Democrats.

However, in a move to cushion the blow, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmHySATbh1PLQn8u8-GHcu03eoiwD9AL0EDO3">Obama didn't go with the full U.S. International Trade Commission recommendations.

The federal trade panel recommended a 55 percent tariff in the first year, 45 percent in the second year and 35 percent in the third year.

Instead, the tariffs will begin at 35%, and then fall to 30% and 25% in the next two years.

With this gift to pro-labor Democrats in the House and Senate, is a deal being struck to win a place at the table for a public option? This will shore up union support for whomever might be hurt by H.R. 3200. My question is this - are the pro-labor seats in the House and Senate pro-public option or are they Blue Dogs in general? I honestly don't know and will start digging myself. But if you've got more information than I've got right now, I'd appreciate your contribution.

If the seats in districts with strongholds in the unions are pro-public option, this is a signal that the public option is likely out. If the seats are Blue Dogs, that means the public option is likely in. Which is it?

[Bolo Boffin]

1. Sanford Bishop, D-GA, Blue Dog, argued for the tariffs

http://bishop.house.gov/display.cfm?content_id=399

Congressman Bishop has taken particular interest in this issue since the announcement last year by Cooper Tire and Rubber Company that it would close its factory in Albany, Ga., resulting in the loss of nearly 1,400 jobs.

“The Cooper Tire Company has helped contribute to Albany’s growth and prosperity by providing good jobs at good wages,” Bishop said. “With the economic troubles now gripping Georgia, our country, and much of the world, it was a real setback to the hardworking citizens of Albany when the closing of the Cooper facility was announced.”

[AdHocSolver]

2. I would like to see a 35 percent tariff on everything imported from China.

The main reason our economy is tanking is because almost all of the stuff we buy is imported, a large amount of it from China.

The Chinese aren't solely to blame. The multinational corporations which import products from countries which exploit their labor force, instead of producing goods in the U.S. with American labor, are equally to blame. Trade agreements such as NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, and MFN status for China were all promoted by the multinational corporations to exploit workers and rip off consumers. The corporations do not pass savings from cheap labor to consumers. They pocket the difference as very high profit margins.

High tariffs on imported goods, together with import quotas, would not cost consumers any more money, but would create (or rather bring back) jobs, as companies which wanted to manufacture goods in the U.S. would be able to compete with the multinational corporations, which now profit from low-wage foreign imports.

[Bolo Boffin]

3. The crazy thing is that tire companies seem to be against the tariffs

The ones with factories in China with strict agreements to only export their tires to the United States, that is. Bridgeport, Cooper, etc.

This is a union deal. Obama has softened it, but he's risking hacking off China to appease the unions. And since most unions want single payer - that's what the Steelworkers have up on their website, anyway - I'm afraid this means a deal to ax the public option.