Job Killing Free Trade
We Left Our Economy Completely Unprotected in an Economic War Being Waged Against Us That is Destroying Our Economy and Country
Tthursday, October 25, 2011
By Thomas Heffner
Economy In Crisis.org
Free trade should be more accurately called “freedom for other countries to undercut and destroy American domestic production” because in practice that is what is happening. This is an undeniable fact that should be obvious to any consumer or business in this country. Very little of what is consumed here is made by American owned companies operating in America. This was not formerly the case, and it was not how the wealth of this country was created.
“Free trade” is a convenient, well-packaged ideology that resonates well with consumers, and lines the pockets and ambitions of CEO’s and politicians. The result is that nearly 50 percent of all new cars now sold in this country are foreign. Our domestic auto manufacturers are consistently losing market share and teetering perpetually on default.
In recent years, the U.S. has been in an economic war imposed on us by countries like China, Japan and Mexico – our constant balance of trade deficit will attest to this. Thanks to the very damaging agreements our leaders signed like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and our treaty with the World Trade Organization (WTO), we are unable to protect ourselves in this economic war.
The consequences of losing an economic war are as damaging as if we lost a military war. Our American companies are increasingly closing up, selling out or going bankrupt and we are forced to outsource our manufacturing to foreign companies. At home, the few jobs that remain have us working for lower wages for our new conquering foreign masters. States beg and compete against each other to get foreign companies to set up shop in their state, we give foreign companies more and more benefits to give us a few menial jobs.
No rational argument exists to continue policy that leads to “free trade” agreements. FTA's are damaging America’s ability as a country to compete, even as the results of free trade continue to provide cheap goods to American consumers. If we do not reverse this path of selling our assets and borrowing from foreign sources to finance our lifestyle of imports, we will eventually receive a call on our debt and will find our cheap goods cost much more than we had ever imagined.
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