Free Trade Fact of the Day
Posted June 25th, 2008 at 12.19pm in American Leadership.
Great new video from reason.tv out today defending NAFTA by making the argument that the threat to American jobs from trade is no different than the threat from better technology. Host Drew Carey quips:”How are we supposed to compete against something that doesn’t get paid, doesn’t get health insurance, and never goes on breaks? No job is safe from the robot threat!”
Reason’s editors add: “Like technology, trade gives us more good stuff than bad—yet Americans are likely to cheer technology and fear trade. No doubt TV talkers and White House wannabes will keep stoking our fears of foreigners until voters and viewers stop buying it—or until robots snag their jobs, too.”
- Author: Conn Carroll
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June 26, 2008 Darvin Dowdy writes:
Laugh it up all you want but to pretend that there is no problem is irresponsible. Few are against free trade. But if Mexican truckers (who get paid about .18 per mile as opposed to U.S. truckers that are paid about .40pm) are allowed to continue to bring their loads in and return w/another load, within 5 years the U.S. trucking industry will be a shadow of what it is today. All trucking will be run out of Mexico. After the loss of high paying manufacturing jobs over the past decade, where do you think these displaced workers went? Many climbed into an 8X8 sleeper truck cab, left their homes and families and went out on the road for 5-6 weeks at a time. In order to keep their present living standard. And now thats being threatened.
The GOP Hierarchy continues to shoot itself squarely in the foot on these issues. Many in the GOP Hierarchy are firmly convinced that the U.S. can no longer sustain a middle class. This stance causes independents/Reagan democrats to view them now as the opposition. And vote against them.
Nafta must be “re-visited”. Mexican truckers need to drop their loads on the U.S. side in a designated drop-off zones. For security purposes these loads should be inspected. And then U.S. truckers pick up the loads, taking them to their destinations.
No non-U.S. citizen should be allowed to drive “professionally” on U.S. taxpayer funded highways unless they have a legal work visa. And the issuance of work visas must be tied directly to U.S. employment numbers.
The GOP had best come to grips with this problem and stop pretending that it doesn’t exist. Unless they want to become the extreme minority party. [maybe thats what they “do” want?]
There are “conservative” solutions that will make all parties happy and keep the GOP on top. Darvin Dowdy