Now that the news about the occupation of Iraq has almost stopped, the major news channels are devoting most of the time on New York's naughty governor and the primaries instead of the real issues that are facing this country.
America is quickly becoming a second rate economic power, and the consequences are not going to be pretty to anybody that has to work for a living. The burden that NAFTA and other trade deals that hamstring US Businesses and labor must be reviewed by the next administration that takes power in 2009.
We have issues like "Open Trucking" where Mexican trucks are to be free to roam the USA and compete with the Teamsters. Some say it is just fair competition but that is a bunch of crap. First of all the Mexican truckers are non union drivers who are paid a fraction of what American drivers so how do our businesses compete? The Mexican trucks don't have to have expensive road safety features like American trucks do. How do our businesses compete?
So if you have to work for a living and don't make your money as a hedge fund manager the economy is a big issue and NAFTA is a word that means you have been sold out by CEO's shipping your manufacturing job out of the U.S. to cheap labor nations like Mexico and China./Now the numbers that Bush / Cheney will give you are "The Census Bureau data show that U.S. export growth was phenomenal in 2006, increasing by 14.5 percent. ... Exports to Europe increased by 15.2 percent and to China by nearly 32 percent. The growth in exports to Japan was a slower 7.5 percent, but it grew. Since 2001, U.S. exports have increased by more than 42 percent."
Now that looks impressive but just like the spin on the build of the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq, the administration conveniently left out the other half of the story.
In 2007 our trade deficit with Mexico grew by 16 percent to $73 Billion, a new record. Mexico ships more cars to America than America ships to the world. Now where did Mexico get the Auto Industry? I think maybe it was Enrique Ford.
If you think that is bad look at the trade deficit with China. It has grown to $256 Billion which happens to be the largest trade deficit ever between two nations.
Since the Bush / Cheney takeover three million manufacturing jobs have disappeared to countries that have cheap labor. The U.S. trade deficit has doubled, and most alarming is the America is running a trade deficit in the advanced technology sector of more than $67 billion with China.
Bush said "free trade is essential to the creation of high paying quality jobs. " Yes George but it is exports that create jobs and imports displace them. So sit down and pay attention W. We import over half a trillion dollars more in manufactured goods than we export. The Bush administration has been slaughtering the U.S. manufacturing jobs like the Canadians club baby seals in the artic.
So ok everybody here is your economics 101. What is the correlation between $4.3 trillion in trade deficits under George W and 3 million manufacturing workers, that had a decent living and health care coverage now working at a low paying customer service center or god forbid Wal-Mart. The correlation between trade deficits and the 50 percent fall of the value or the dollar to the euro, or the quadrupling of the price of gold under George and Dick?
None of the candidates has come out with a new plan to deal with the changing of America from an industrial super power to the capital of the world's fast food empire. I hope McCain and the Neo-Convicts plan on winning the next major conflict by killing our enemies with artery clogging McFries and McShakes.
None of the candidates seem to have the will to do what is necessary to deal with the de-industrialization of America, our dependency on foreign technology, manufactures and the massive loans to pay for our deficit spending. McCain even goes further when he informed autoworkers that their "jobs are not coming back" and that protectionist steps would be bad for America.
McCain thinks the lowest cost of a weapons system is the most important factor. He even supports the winning bid by Airbus a European venture to build the next generation of Air Tankers for our military. Boeing now will miss out on a deal that it says would have supported 44,000 new and existing jobs at the company and suppliers in 40 states.
All I can say is we better start protecting our manufacturing jobs because it will be hard to buy tanks and jets from the people you might be fighting in the next conflict. Imagine if we would have had to ask the Japanese for enough tanks, planes, and ships so we could defeat them during WWII.
Bush / Cheney have created an economic disaster that could put this country out of business and if this goes on much longer there won't be any American companies to protect.
Peace and Liberty through intelligence, strength, and integrity.
