Reply #12: a few points in response [View All]

" the US is already lagging seriously ......... due to the non-competitive nature of its industrial base."

what you are saying is US workers who are employed in the manufacturing sector make to much money. that US corporations can't compete without paying workers wages that result in the destitution of those workers.

so your answer is to "have a fast track system to retain and re-employ displaced workers."

retain: i don't think the US will have a problem retaining workers, people are not going to mexico or india to compete for jobs.

re-employ: i don't follow, if the jobs that don't require high levels of education are out-sourced, were are you going to re-employ these people? the jobs are gone. what are these phantom industries that will employ joe and jane american, who do not have a degree ?

not that a degree grantees you job security anymore. which brings us to another huge issue with nafta and the other "free" trade agreements.

capital flight, which an integral part of this economic seem

if a corporation can move its' monetary resources across borders at will, no amount of education will protect your job. the bottom line rules all. if a co. can make more money by paying a computer programmer in india less than an american computer programmer, than by god they will do it. not to mention the money they will save on things like health insurance.

"kucinich's ideas are not based on looking forwards to a more sensible approach to job loss," what could be more sensible than preventing the jobs from leaving the US. We were told 10 years ago nafta would benefit all involved. it is simply not true. why should i believe it this time around?

as far as the anti-democratic entities like the E.E.C. that have a problem with our economic policies, they don't have a leg to stand on if we junk these trade agreements. i agree that the US has not been playing by the "rules," and it is unfair to developing states. sometimes it seems like we had the world sign these agreements just to get our foot in the door and privatize whatever they had. a state's resources should be used for the benefit of the actual living breathing people of that state. not the unaccountable corporations that serve only the bottom line.

as far as the rest of the world boycotting the US market, i highly doubt it. the countries that we engaged in bi-lateral trade would love to have access to the US market. it would become a prize economic possession, a bi-lateral trade agreement with the US of A! there is a sector of capital that would be highly upset. they would attempt to cause harm to the US economy and therefor its' citizens. and there is the rub, we can either let this agenda continue and (for working class folks) loose our democratic influence over our own economy and our own lives, or we can stop it now, strengthen our internal economy through domestic investment in everything from alternative energy to zero unemployment.