Posted on 06/14/2015 3:17:22 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
When the proceeds of growth are not widely shared, the consensus in favor of pro-growth measures cracks.
A decade and a half ago, I filled my days writing speeches urging Congress to grant President George W. Bush fast-track trade authority. If memory serves, I wrote more speeches on that one subject than on any other. Obviously, I didn’t earn my pay: Despite Republican majorities in both Houses, Congress balked.
This past year, President Obama has worked as hard for fast-track authority as President Bush ever did. It now seems that his efforts will prove as unavailing. This time, if anything, the loss is even more heartbreaking, because the prize in reach is bigger than anything on offer in 2001-2002: a Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade.
TPP matters both to the American economy and to American security. China’s admission to the World Trade Organization in 2001 was necessary and unavoidable. How can you sustain a multilateral-trade regime without including the world’s largest exporter and second-largest importer? But the price of China’s inclusion in the WTO was the paralysis of the multilateral trade regime that had evolved since the 1940s: Trade-liberalization negotiations that included China just became too difficult....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Americans are not turning against free trade, they are against approving secret laws that empower an anti-American psycho President looking to destroy the country.
Agree.
I know what the difference is between TPA and TPP; I also know about TiSA...what I find highly disingenuous and dissembling is all the recent posting re: defense of Cruz’-whoever’s vote on TPA and how we “don’t understand”.
We get the ever-present “TPA is not secret” crap intentionally trying to confuse its published status with TPP’s cloistered existence. We get the “you’ll have 60 days to review blah, blah blah...”
My problem with TPA is the framework it establishes future pacts to be considered and voted upon. As I understand it is up or down with NO amendments allowed. Further, the bar for consideration is lopsided 51 to pass and 60 to defeat (Senate).
My second big complaint is that while the remarks about “it can’t change US law, or the treaty aspects, blah blah blah...” may be true to an extent, they DO offer the ability for a President implement actions like immigration changes, import bans (guns/ammunition) under color of LAW.
Actions that he could do already under EO or ED/Memos anyway. Why? The next President can rescind an EO or memo/directive; he will have a difficult time removing something from a “Pact”. Add to that the fact that it isn’t the President who takes the blame - all he has to do is to say “Congress approved it.”
As it stands now, I’m still a Cruz supported, but his dogged insistence and the defense some are offering up is making that decision very difficult for me and I wish they would just stop it and move on. There is nothing about this whole trade issue that cannot wait for 16 more months.
Put another way is if liberal elites don’t care about us, we don’t feel we need to care about them.
Enuf Said!!!
America is turning against free trade for the same reason Obama got elected.
We are becoming a nation of socialist whiners that don’t want to compete.
We are becoming French. We want protection and handouts.
trust Frum to get it wrong
So, the Elites a re now claiming the the pact was about Free Trade??
Then why was the text hidden?
Americans are against being lied to, and against being sold down the river/
The TPA is available for anyone to read, IIRC.
I don’t see people who want a standard of living better than a Red Chinese coolie as whiners.
Free trade has not been beneficial for the average American, and things are only going to get worse. Why would anyone hire an American or European worker when they can pay some Third Worlder pennies per day?
You nailed it with pin-point accuracy..!!
Exactly. Trade is essential and Americans know this. BUT shove a secret deal down our throats? NO WAY.
And never ever give that POS BOZO anything.
The Constitution says treaties require a 2/3 majority vote of the Senate to become law, TPP is a treaty no matter what the spin masters call it, and now TPP can become law of the land if a simple majority in the Senate approves.
I know King Barry doesn't care what's in the Constitution but I'm amazed to see so many FReepers who obviously don't care either.
Sure are a lot of “experts” here about a bill that is supposedly secret.
If you can’t produce significantly more than a “Third Worlder pennies per day” person then why should you be paid more? We are no longer an island that can hide from the world. Either we compete with the world or the world moves on without us.
What are you going to do when robots do most of the manual labor? Ban robots? Because that day is coming quickly.
The bottom line is government is the anchor holding us down. Endless regulation, taxes and “fees” redistributing our work productivity to a near majority who vote and don’t contribute to the wealth of the country. Either we throw off the yoke around our necks or we go broke.
When Americans are free we lead the world in innovation. We haven’t been free for some time now and it shows.
Ignorance
Wow! So who writes these "rules" on how this legislation is debated and voted on, and why is this legislation different from other legislation? Do Senators get to vote on the rules, or are the rules up to Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid?
Seems to me if this kind of word-play and rule making is allowed, then ANYTHING goes.
You have correctly pointed out the big “miss” in Frum’s article. Obama himself has “poisoned the well” with the American people. He has looked for and taken every opportunity to abuse, bend, and ignore the law with what repeatedly appears to be (and is, IMO) deliberate intent to destroy this country and the basis on which it was founded. He has left no stone unturned on his path to destruction morally, fiscally, domestic & foreign security and he has turned the people of this country against each other racially, sexually, and religiously and he is working to subvert and destroy the military. He has demonstrably given aid and comfort to our sworn enemies, foreign and domestic. He has lied about absolutely everything with the exception of his statement that he will “fundamentally transform America”. There is absolutely no reason to think he won’t do the same with whatever authority TPA gives him and for him to totally screw America with the TPP. Congress has shown itself weak and unwilling and/or unable to put the brakes on Obama’s destructive actions so they get a share of the blame for this as well and their whining about how good free trade would be if the American people would just “understand” is something I find offensive. Bottom line - we do not trust Obama with anything and we have no faith that Congress acts in the best interests of “we the people” any more.
The rules of future pact consideration are set by TPA.
This is what makes it “Fast-Track.” The “President’s Team” has negotiated the pacts and hell-fire and damnation they will be considered “as is”.
By hiding behind “TPA isn’t secret” and all that, the actual bad things about it aren’t fully realized in my opinion. the devil is in the details.
"Look in my eyes, what do you see? The cult of personality."
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