I suspect many are not aware of what the TPP is, but it is something that can have a profound effect on all of us. It is the Trans Pacific Partnership. It is a trade deal has been negotiated by the Obama Administration with eleven other Pacific Rim countries. It has been called by some “NAFTA on steroids.” Ross Perot talked about the “great sucking sound” of jobs leaving our country with NAFTA. Will it increase to a roar with the TPP?
The TPP was a negotiation in which corporations had the dominate input. It was negotiated in secret and the only concern of corporate negotiators is always only corporate profits, not the best interest of the American people. A major reason most Americans are unaware of this deal is that our media is controlled by corporate giants who don’t really want us to know. We should consider whether past trade deals like NAFTA and the WTO (World Trade Organization) have improved the lot of the average citizen. What may be good for the corporate CEO may not be good for their employees. Has the lot of the American people improved with past deals? The answer to that is a simple NO! For the corporations and the wealthy they have been just grand. Good paying jobs have left the country and have been replaced with low wage jobs.
Past agreements have been supported by both major political parties. Both are parties of business and love corporate donation dollars. In the past trade deals both parties have supported the corporations and not the people. You would think there would be a great deal of conservative opposition to this and past trade deals because under these negotiations we have given foreign corporations the ability to make our country liable for our own laws.
We often hear from conservatives when it comes to the United Nations, but past trade deals have made our laws open to actions by foreign governments and corporations. Under past agreements, our laws can be challenged if a corporation believes its future profits are threatened by one of our laws. As one who is concerned about the environment, a law which protects our health and environment can be challenged by foreign corporations. Secret trade courts make rulings on these challenges.
We no longer have the right to know from what country the fish in our supermarkets came. We now are being sued by a Canadian corporation, because of the President’s decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline, for $15 billion dollars of our tax dollars. Whether or not you agree with the President’s decision, you should be offended that a private, foreign corporation can dictate what our country can do. These are just two examples. Don’t you believe that we should have the right to know from where our food comes? Don’t you think we should have the right to determine what may enter our country? Evidently people like Representative Marino don’t think so.
It seems apparent that any true conservative would oppose such a deal. The problem is that many of our politicians who claim to be conservatives are really corporatists. Representative Marino has already voted for fast track. This means that when the TPP comes before Congress there can be no debate or amendments. His constituents can be sure he will support its passage. If you don’t think that American workers should have to compete with low wage workers from countries like Vietnam, please let him know. Let him know that no corporation or government should have the ability to challenge our laws. Progressives and conservatives should be united against the TPP.
One interesting aspect of the right’s support of this deal is that they have reflexively opposed any of President Obama’s proposals. Even when it was originally one of their ideas. But this is too important for their corporate masters for them to oppose. They are demonstrating that without question they are not conservatives. The major opposition to the TPP is coming from more progressive members of Congress. On this issue, some in Congress appear to be more principled. Those who consider themselves progressives should finally understand that on economic issues, President Obama is very much a corporatist.