[mobglob-discuss] The Big Lie About Free Trade

[Gordon Flett]

The Big Lie About Free Trade
Turns out it's American workers who are waving goodbye to their jobs
by Bernie Sanders

published on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 by the Chicago Tribune
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/> /


Though I am a congressman from Vermont, it outrages me that Maytag Corp.
will shut down production at its refrigerator factory in Galesburg,
Ill., and lay off the plant's 1,600 workers by late 2004.

Maytag is using the North America Free Trade Agreement, which I opposed,
to move its plant to Mexico. In Mexico it will be able to hire workers
at $2 an hour, rather than pay the average wage of $15.14 earned by
workers in Galesburg. And the Newton, Iowa, appliance manufacturer is
closing its Illinois plant despite recent concessions from the union and
substantial sums of corporate welfare given it by city, county and state
governments.

Illinois citizens should have no illusions that what is happening in
Galesburg is unique. I can tell you that the same thing is happening in
my state. In fact, it's happening in many regions of the country. In
Vermont, in recent years, as a result of such disastrous trade policies
as NAFTA, most-favored-nation status with China and permanent normal
trade relations with China and other trade agreements, we have lost
thousands of decent paying jobs in Shaftsbury, Newport, St. Johnsbury,
East Ryegate, Island Pond, Randolph, Orleans, Bennington, Springfield
and Windsor--among other communities.

The simple truth is that our nation's manufacturing base is collapsing.
As unemployment rises, more and more Americans are searching for
non-existent jobs. In the past two years we have lost just under 1.8
million factory jobs nationwide, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, and, at 16.5 million, we now have the lowest number of
factory jobs in 40 years.

As the U.S. produces less and imports more, we have developed a huge
trade deficit of more than $400 billion, including an $80 billion trade
deficit with China. Millions of Americans are working longer hours for
lower wages, many of them at part-time or temporary jobs with minimal
benefits. And yet, despite all of this, President Bush, almost all
Republicans and many Democrats in Congress continue to spout the
corporate line about how wonderful unfettered "free trade" is. And the
establishment media continue, in editorial after editorial, to repeat
that big lie.

The simple truth is that American workers cannot, and should not, be
"competing" against desperate workers in developing countries who are
forced to work for pennies an hour. This is creating a horrendous "race
to the bottom."

Aaron Kemp is a Maytag worker in Galesburg. He expressed
a lot more understanding of our current trade policies than most member
of Congress when he told a reporter; "This is heartbreaking. This is one
of the most unpatriotic, most un-American things I can imagine a company
doing. They want Americans to buy their products, but they don't want to
put Americans to work making those products."

Clearly, we need fundamental changes in our trade policies. If the
American economy is going to survive, if our workers are to earn a
living wage, corporations are going to have to start reinvesting in the
United States.

In Washington, everybody knows what the story is. President Bush and
many members of Congress have received hundreds of millions in campaign
contributions from the corporations that benefit from our free trade
policies. They have taken those donations--and sold out American workers
by giving their support to a trade policy that is destroying our
economy. If the U.S. is going to survive as a great economic power, we
must rebuild our manufacturing base and create jobs that pay workers a
living wage with decent benefits.

Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is the only independent congressman in the
House

Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune

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