Matt Wuerker for November 13, 2015
Transcript:
An economist stands in front of two chalkboards. One explains free trade as a "system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition." The other explains TPP as "6,000 pages of regulations for copyright and patent monopolies, bilateral deals, and other trade restrictions negotiated in secret. Economist: Like we said, "free trade!" What's so funny?
For a period after the second world war, (the ONLY time the U.S. government did right for combat veterans), when we had the world market, the ability to supply many devastated countries with machinery and other necessities, and kept up building armaments to counter the Russians, we enjoyed the benefits of a REGULATED capitalist system. When Communism was a viable threat, corporate America treated many of us well, paid well, with benefits. Many things changed during the Sixties and Seventies, one being the ascension of Ronald Reagan to the presidency. Since that time, the working middle class slept as its hard-earned rights and the unwritten contract between employer & employee were eroded. The savings of many seniors, WWII vets included, disappeared through financial de-regulation, scamming and outright thievery. After the fall of Communism, G.H.W. Bush promised us a “Peace Dividend”, but the gloves of the owners of industry came off. De-regulation picked up speed, thanks to the likes of Bill Clinton and his political wizard, Alan Greenspan. NAFTA was shoved down our throats, with all the promises of “More jobs for Americans!” and the most ridiculous one “A rising tide lifts all boats!”.NAFTA, we were distinctly told, was to make the United States, Canada and Mexico a solid economic bloc, to successfully compete with Europe and Asia. Is that what happened? Are we to believe that the Tran-Pacific Partnership will benefit the working middle-class (or what’s left of us) American citizen?I think not.