I stand with Tammy Baldwin and Mark Pocan!! Wait… what?
But U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, both Madison-area Dems, called for Obama to release the full text of the deal right away, with Baldwin saying the deal was “hatched in secret behind closed doors.”
Agreeing with Baldwin and Pocan, makes me want to consider siding with Obama here!
However, since Obama is the most non-transparent president ever, going to have to stick with Baldwin and Pocan on this.
Going to wash my hands now.
I believe portions of America are coming to the conclusion that unfettered free trade and unfettered immigration do not lead to more and better jobs for American workers.
China/India/Mexico and Southeast Asia have about three billion people with varying skills from low to high, all ready to do things either much cheaper or in some cases better than an American worker, or both. And they’ll do those things either in their own countries or here in our, er their new country.
And the profits from all this accrue to the Fortune 100 companies and recipients of government programs who can now have their benefits fund the cost of a nice low cost flatscreen TV and smart phone.
The middle class American worker that up until this point in history formed the backbone of the country? Not needed in this equation.
Pocan and Baldwin hate deals hatched behind closed doors where the full text is not available for review. Unless it’s a deal that helps Iran get nuclear weapons. Then we just need to trust the President, it’s not a treaty. Who cares about side deals? Etc.
I don’t know tons about international trade agreements, but when Paul Krugman and Robert Reich are both against it I’m pretty sure it’s a bad deal. They seem to think it’s a great deal for the super wealthy and not so much for the rest of us. Which is never hard to believe in American politics.
Months ago, before this was voted on to fast track, I emailed Ron Johnson, Jim Sensenbrenner, and Tammy Baldwin asking the following questions:
Why fast track this bill?
Why is the trade agreement classified?
Would the American public be in support if it was not negotiated in secret?
How will it effect/reduce the trade deficit?
How will this improve the middle class?
What effect will this have on pharmaceuticals?
How does giving the president the ability to negotiate trade deals preserve our constitutional checks and balances in government?
There are 500 official cop orate U.S. Trade advisors that have access to the trade agreement text. How many of the Congress and Senate have access to the agreement?
I received an email back from all three. Tammy Baldwin being against, and Ron Johnson and Jim Sensenbrenner being for. None of these individuals answered any of my specific questions.
I asked these questions again of Johnson and Sensenbrenner, as they were for fast tracking, but neither one would respond.
This is another reason to rid ourselves of Johnson and Sensenbrenner.
Great questions Pat. They can’t answer them other than perhaps “my lobbyist from GE told me to vote for this”.
The smart money is on Johnson being history next year.