DISQUS

CPL My problem with American Free Trade Agreements is that there's no mechanism to facilitate accountability on the part of the partners, and there's no enforcement mechanism for those who violate the terms and conditions of the agreements.

Sure, there may be some job losses within economic cycles that can be planned for or contengencies made. But with NAFTA and CAFTA, those FTAs were ushered in by corporate lobbyists who saw opportunities to make fat profits at low wages paid in the partner participants. When things were made in the USA, the unions saw to it that their members were paid prevailing wage, and the Labor Department enforced that. With partners like third world countries involved, there's no reason to keep paying prevailing wages, when the partner countries pay 90% less.

If you really want to know, look at the job cycles after an FTA with the US as a participant, is enacted, and see which companies start announcing cutbacks in employment, such as manufacturing jobs, and industries that supported entire towns, like Detroit or Cleveland. Those employees look at what happened pre-NAFTA and post-NAFTA. I would also recommend Robert Greenwald's "Wal-Mart; The High Cost of Low Price" which is a documentary that details how Wal-Mart hits towns and small businesses dry up and go out of business; how Wal-Mart decimates entire communities while giving nothing back.

Inglewood, Ca wasn't having it. They got Wal Mart run out of town after Wal Mart tried to circumvent the process and tried to get a referendum passed that would have allowed them to build. That ballot failed by a 2/3 margin.

Usually when economic cycles hit, they may put some people out of work, but not forever - the cycle usually cycles back around to where people can return to work. Ever since the FTAs, jobs have been leaving the country never to return.

Brown Man Helluva conundrum we have in modern politics - the black candidates, especially in mixed districts, can't pander to black voters. The white ones can't pander to whites. But they can each go overboard when reaching outside of their own group.

Hmmmm.

BlackButterfly I think that it is a start and great thing for the historical record. Yes... I think that the resolution was motivated by party politics but it also was something that was long overdue.

Our ancestors were founders in the building of this country and there has never been the respect of acknowledgement of that fact or the hardships that were endured.

It has not escaped me that there has been no real coverage by the MSM on this resolution so as expected they are trying to fill their airtime with non-newsworthy garbage like airing McCain's ridiculous add for FREE but Obama is being accused of being the MSM darling. I think not!

CraigHickman Well, yeah, but the content matters. Especially since lies can be called out for what they are.

McCain opens himself up to "cross examination" when he claims he's always there for the troops.

That's a lie proved by a long list of evidence.

Such as this for starters.

Add to that, John didn't visit the wounded soldiers in Germany. He had a fundraiser instead. HIs entire trip was a CODEL paid for by the taxpayers. So what was he doing raising money as though he were on a campaign trip?

No one in the media is asking about that.

CPL Less than 20 and many of us were African-American. Latinos barely represented.