The ruling class or those who own this country, with the help of our duly elected officials, have declared war on working folks. How else can one explain their resistance to raising the minimum wage, their attack on a mediocre health care program (Obamacare) which clearly does not solve the problem of affordable health care insurance for all our citizens, their resistance to extending the unemployment insurance necessary for families to survive during these hard times, their desire to destroy the safety net that we have all benefitted from (social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid), their push to privatize education, prisons, and the military so that their friends can add millions of dollars to their already exorbitant wealth?
Their war is being fought on many fronts. Take NAFTA for example. NAFTA recently celebrated its 20th birthday and while we were told by Bill Clinton that it would create hundreds of thousands of jobs for U.S. workers, it has failed miserably and has resulted instead in the loss of millions of U.S. jobs. The beneficiaries of NAFTA are surprisingly, the corporate executives.
Now we have our present “left-wing” president, Barack Obama, who is trying to sell us on two new “free trade” agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The administration is attempting to negotiate the two major trade deals in the same time frame. Those involved in these negotiations do not include our elected congressional representatives but rather selected administration officials along with corporate officials. These meetings are private and attempts by some congressmen to participate have met with major resistance. Our president wishes to fast-track these agreements which means that Congress and the people of this country will be deciding our fate without a comprehensive understanding of what details are in these agreements.
Yves Smith, in his article, “Administration Peddling Increasing Blatant Canards on Proposed ‘Trade” Deals,’” puts things in perspective. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the US-European Union “Free Trade” Agreement are both inaccurately depicted as being helpful to ordinary Americans by virtue of liberalizing trade. Instead, they have perilous little to do with trade. They are both intended to make the world more lucrative for major corporations by weakening regulations and by strengthening intellectual property laws.”
These two deals will likely erode further the availability of jobs for U.S. workers. They open further the ability of capital to be moved anywhere around the world with little protection for workers. As Smith states, “These deals will also lead to more upward redistribution of income. This is yet another case where the government is working for a tiny elite against the interests of the bulk of the population.
“If that isn’t bad enough, there’s another side of these planned pacts that is often simply ignored. These ‘trade’ deals are Trojan horses to erode or eliminate national regulations. It is anticipated that these deals will include sections that would limit government regulation (including at the state and local level) on fracking and could revive much of the Internet surveillance.”
So, the question I ask is, why is our “socialist” president pushing for these treaties? When I hear him speak, he emphasizes the need to put Americans back to work. Yet, his actions and policies often contradict his words. He is a wonderful speaker but, I don’t know about you, good speeches do not put food on the table nor pay the rent. I have on previous occasions stated strongly, don’t pay attention to what he says, look at what he does.
Yves Smith says it well. “Apparently Obama wants to make sure his corporate masters get as many goodies as possible before he leaves office.”
It is time to stop making excuses for Obama or stating that he has done some good things. Under his leadership, our society and our police have become more oppressive and militaristic and our constitutionally guaranteed rights have been seriously compromised. When we, the people, are at war and under attack, we can no longer remain courteous and understanding. Mr. Obama, the constitutional lawyer, has continuously attacked the fabric of the Constitution.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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A state of war
Posted on January 28, 2014 by Dave Alpert
The ruling class or those who own this country, with the help of our duly elected officials, have declared war on working folks. How else can one explain their resistance to raising the minimum wage, their attack on a mediocre health care program (Obamacare) which clearly does not solve the problem of affordable health care insurance for all our citizens, their resistance to extending the unemployment insurance necessary for families to survive during these hard times, their desire to destroy the safety net that we have all benefitted from (social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid), their push to privatize education, prisons, and the military so that their friends can add millions of dollars to their already exorbitant wealth?
Their war is being fought on many fronts. Take NAFTA for example. NAFTA recently celebrated its 20th birthday and while we were told by Bill Clinton that it would create hundreds of thousands of jobs for U.S. workers, it has failed miserably and has resulted instead in the loss of millions of U.S. jobs. The beneficiaries of NAFTA are surprisingly, the corporate executives.
Now we have our present “left-wing” president, Barack Obama, who is trying to sell us on two new “free trade” agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The administration is attempting to negotiate the two major trade deals in the same time frame. Those involved in these negotiations do not include our elected congressional representatives but rather selected administration officials along with corporate officials. These meetings are private and attempts by some congressmen to participate have met with major resistance. Our president wishes to fast-track these agreements which means that Congress and the people of this country will be deciding our fate without a comprehensive understanding of what details are in these agreements.
Yves Smith, in his article, “Administration Peddling Increasing Blatant Canards on Proposed ‘Trade” Deals,’” puts things in perspective. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the US-European Union “Free Trade” Agreement are both inaccurately depicted as being helpful to ordinary Americans by virtue of liberalizing trade. Instead, they have perilous little to do with trade. They are both intended to make the world more lucrative for major corporations by weakening regulations and by strengthening intellectual property laws.”
These two deals will likely erode further the availability of jobs for U.S. workers. They open further the ability of capital to be moved anywhere around the world with little protection for workers. As Smith states, “These deals will also lead to more upward redistribution of income. This is yet another case where the government is working for a tiny elite against the interests of the bulk of the population.
“If that isn’t bad enough, there’s another side of these planned pacts that is often simply ignored. These ‘trade’ deals are Trojan horses to erode or eliminate national regulations. It is anticipated that these deals will include sections that would limit government regulation (including at the state and local level) on fracking and could revive much of the Internet surveillance.”
So, the question I ask is, why is our “socialist” president pushing for these treaties? When I hear him speak, he emphasizes the need to put Americans back to work. Yet, his actions and policies often contradict his words. He is a wonderful speaker but, I don’t know about you, good speeches do not put food on the table nor pay the rent. I have on previous occasions stated strongly, don’t pay attention to what he says, look at what he does.
Yves Smith says it well. “Apparently Obama wants to make sure his corporate masters get as many goodies as possible before he leaves office.”
It is time to stop making excuses for Obama or stating that he has done some good things. Under his leadership, our society and our police have become more oppressive and militaristic and our constitutionally guaranteed rights have been seriously compromised. When we, the people, are at war and under attack, we can no longer remain courteous and understanding. Mr. Obama, the constitutional lawyer, has continuously attacked the fabric of the Constitution.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.