Re: Ten Years of NAFTA - What it's Done for You?

"Sarah" <newsgroupsdon'[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> Ten Years of NAFTA:
> What it's Done for You?
> Dennis Kucinich says:
> "For a decade, we have been subjected to a grand experiment called
> NAFTA. When that agreement was signed in 1993, it was enthusiastically
> supported by big business, Republicans, and all too many Democrats -- 
> including then-Governor Howard Dean, who even attended a NAFTA signing
> ceremony. Now it is clear that this experiment has failed. We've lost
> close to 3 million manufacturing jobs since July 2000. Over one half a
> million of these are directly attributable to NAFTA. Our trade deficit
> grew to $418 billion last year and continues to climb. And, because of
> the WTO, corporations have been granted unprecedented powers to sue
> the government in closed trade courts anytime laws designed to protect
> workers or the environment are deemed to infringe on corporate
> 'rights.'
> 
> "The legislative founding father of the WTO in the House of
> Representatives was Richard Gephardt. The bill bears his name, and he
> led the effort to achieve its passage. This surprises many people,
> since Mr. Gephardt is thought to be a strong supporter of the very
> workers' rights which the WTO does not permit recognition of.... The
> Bush administration wants to extend NAFTA throughout the Western
> Hemisphere through the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA).
> This proposal is being pushed by the administration and its Republican
> allies in Congress and the corporate world. Opposed by genuine
> progressive leaders throughout Latin America, including Brazilian
> president Lula DaSilva, the FTAA ministerial will bring thousands of
> dedicated activists onto the streets of Miami this month to
> protest....The only way to undo the damage these trade deals have
> caused is to end them. The NAFTA and WTO treaties include legal
> clauses permitting the signatory countries to withdraw from them at
> any time, following a routine notification period. As president, I
> will invoke these withdrawal clauses and once and for all take America
> out of an unfair system of corporate trade. We will return to
> bilateral trade conditioned on workers' rights, human rights, and
> environmental quality principles. This will provide security for
> American workers and for workers worldwide."
> 
> What do YOU say?
> You've read Dennis' position on NAFTA, now tell us where you stand.
> Dennis wants to know how NAFTA is affecting your life, your family,
> and your community. Please invite others to voice their opinion, too.
> Go to  www.kucinich.us/nafta/  to tell your story and read what others
> have to say.

Another economic illiterate running for office. Nothing new there then.

Tim Worstall