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NEW IDEAS ON RESTORING U. S. ECONOMY, for the Next Secretary of Commerce, William Blaine Richardson III
By Stephen Fox (about the author) Page 3 of 5 page(s)
Yet, this is precisely what the United States' unilateral embargo on Cuba does. The American prohibition on trade with Cuba, approaching its 50th anniversary, paralyzes America's biggest bargaining chip with the Cuban government while leaving American business out in the cold. Canadian, European and Chinese firms lobby their governments to grant trading credits to Cuba, which are in turn used to buy goods from them. They never have to worry about competing with American companies and higher shipping costs are passed on to the Cuban government, which in turn raises prices on the goods that tourists and privileged Cubans may buy. The Cuban government, and by extension the Castro brothers and their successors, do not take a loss. Estimates vary, but by all accounts, American companies lose billions of dollars in earnings and tens of thousands of American jobs are lost every year thanks to the Cuba embargo. The 50-year-old argument from Miami, the last nine presidential administrations and Hillary Clinton is that the embargo is America's only leverage to force democratic change in Cuba. But because the change the United States seeks is the elimination of the Cuban government, the only way to meet American demands as a precondition to ending the embargo is to go into extinction. So the prerequisites to ending the embargo cannot be met and America is left without any leverage except the threat of armed force.
Outgoing Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez was born in Havana in 1953 and fled to the United States with his family in 1960 when Castro took over, a traumatic experience shared by many exiles who nurse their rage with dreams of revenge after all these years. He currently heads the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba and adamantly supports Bush's failed policies towards the Pearl of the Antilles. As a Republican, Cuban-American and Bush appointee, the Commerce Department's position on Cuba was a foregone conclusion. This is not a coincidence. Long ago, special interest groups concentrated in Miami hijacked American foreign policy towards Cuba. Bill Richardson has the perfect opportunity to invite Cuban economic czar Carlos Lage to Washington and inform him that change has come to policies that punish American businesses while creating the perfect scapegoat for economic mismanagement in Cuba.
Above all, America is going to have a higher I.Q. to work with. No longer will the U.S. assist the Cuban government's monopoly over its economy by fencing off American commerce and influence. Now is the time for Sec. Richardson to promote a free trade agreement with Cuba. Such a bold move would do more to bring change to Cuba than anything we have ever seen. Sec. Richardson's diplomatic skills would shine once more as American business prospers while American geopolitical interests are served once again by the stroke of his pen.
Michael O'Brien, Ohio, Author:
Once in a generation, a public servant appears who seems capable of extraordinary things. Able to move flawlessly from one area of responsibility to another, these folks are able to float free from the bonds of ideological conformity. As the presumptive nominee to be the new Commerce Secretary, Bill Richardson is the latest inductee into this rarified group. In taking the job at Commerce, Richardson is giving up a secure future as governor of New Mexico, plunging straight into the hellfire of the current economic meltdown. As one of the most influential departments in our government, the reach of the Commerce Secretary is wide and deep - from overseeing technology and trade to forecasting the weather. Given the breadth of his experience, Richardson's pedigree is well suited to the task of managing this bureaucratic beast. All of Richardson's skills - as a diplomat, negotiator, executive and legislator - will all be put to the test. Few members of the new cabinet have the experience of a Bill Richardson. Given the challenges faced by the new administration, his will be in a position to give sage advice and counsel at a time when we need it most.
Kiku Botura: (Obama Rapid Response@groups.barackobama.com)
I want to know why $350 billion has disappeared with no impact on the economy, and no tracking of that money. At the cost of a Prius at $30,000, we could be half way to solving the energy crisis. Someone wanted Republicans out of office for keeping the price so high during the election.) I want to know why the CEOs who allowed this to happen (it didn't happen to all banks: Wells Fargo is doing fine. A friend of mine working on Wall Street in the mortgage business said this would be huge a year ago. They knew it would happen. Why are these CEOs allowed to keep their jobs and their pensions, while I have to pay the PTA at my daughter's school so that the school can afford a teacher for gym, music, and art? We've lost half of our retirement, and the CEOs still get their multi-million dollar bonuses. I want to see some regulation and oversight. I want Congress to stop giving money to thieves and giving money to people who lied to us. Congress doesn't have the decency to insist that the people be informed. I want explanations and transparency. It's going to take trillions of dollars to fix this. We can't let the banks fail, because we all have our money tied into the system, even the government. The government gave money to the corporations. Now, it's time that they give the money to the people, to buy back their houses, and get the money flowing again, because the banks aren't going to do it.
Frank Spiga [56, Corporate Traffic/Fleet Manager, St. Clair Shores, Michigan] :
With the economy in the state it is in, and with the jobs outlook as bleak as it is, what I would like to see the Department of Commerce focus on the following:
Identify and recommend changes in tariffs and in trade agreements where there is clear evidence that the results of those agreements or lack of tariffs has directly affected American jobs. While this may be controversial, there simply must be a mechanism for insuring any trade negotiations are intelligently monitored, effectively negotiated, and insure that in the end these agreements result in a net gain to the nation a whole
including main street and not just Wall street.
Identify and enact any necessary trade restrictions from agreements that are currently in place, but the existence of such agreement has no measurable benefit to the economy of the United States.
Identify and prosecute all international violations of patent and copyright law, including intellectual property, and impose penalties up to and including import exclusion for the offending parties.
Develop a "patriotic" component model that should be included in all trade agreements in the future. Included in this should be an evaluation of jobs impact, future availability of the goods relevant to each negotiation, and the manufacturing capability available in the United at the time of those negotiations, and the impact on that capability that would result from a new trade agreement. Additionally there should be insurance that as a any
commodity is opened up for import, that same agreement must provide for an offsetting commodity to be exported to offset any net losses.
(note) By patriotic component I mean a real evaluation of what jobs, what industries, and what resources will be sacrificed by entering into any trade agreement, as well as the economic impact on the companies involved in the agreement. While I am sure Mattel has indeed boosted its corporate profits due to their Chinese imports, there has been little or no impact on prices to consumers, many jobs lost, and safety and quality have both become as obsolete as the American workers who used to make the toys before China did.
Coupled with this component there needs to be fundamental change in the tax, banking, and investment laws to eliminate the maximization of corporate profits from outsourcing that results in little or no savings to customers, poor quality goods, and lost jobs.. Additionally, their must be protection for smaller manufacturers from corporations that use outsourcing to eliminate competitors, ultimately harming consumers through virtual import
monopolies after eliminating domestic production and competition.
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