Free Republic

Having lived with the damaging results over the past decades, it should be no surprise that many Americans are against these corrupt special interest trade policies.

No country or civilization has ever risen to such wealth and power to have receded so quickly to stagnation, dependency and indebtedness. The reason is twofold: our disastrous “free trade” agreements and our membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). “Free trade” sounds nice, but it is an extremely misleading policy. In actuality the practice has wrought havoc on the American economy. It appears as though our leaders are either apathetic or clueless when it comes to the United States’ involvement with free trade agreements (FTAs). In fact, “free trade” lines the pockets and ambitions of CEOs and politicians while...

The FedEx founder and CEO reflects on how deregulation and opening markets have wrought astonishing changes and prosperity over 50 years. During our years at Yale, the world was a different place. Foreign travel was exotic, expensive and rare among the population as a whole. While some young Americans had been abroad, by far most Americans had not—and those who did go abroad most likely traveled by sea rather than air. In the early 1960s, flying over the oceans was mainly for the affluent. Long-distance telephone calls were expensive, international calls prohibitively so. From furniture to TVs and appliances, and...

Most significantly, the TPP does not address a massive cost to U.S. goods and services that has a chokehold on our export levels: foreign Value-Added Tax (VAT) schemes.

An active industrial policy geared toward recovering our manufacturing capability can work and has worked before. There are many examples of this from U.S. history, championed by both sides of the aisle. In fact, tariffs effectively built the wealth of this country and have been a very valuable tool for managing growth for the better part of 200 years. We should not strive to return to a type of colonial “subject” status with respect to today’s new economic imperialists in Japan, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, or Mexico.

A report released Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., reports the spectacular failure of efforts by the U.S. to improve its trade imbalance with China by allowing it into the World Trade Organization in 2001. The report, “China Trade, Outsourcing and Jobs,” states that U.S. officials including President Bill Clinton boasted of the improvements that would come with allowing China into the organization. According to the authors of the report, the following are five predictions made about the benefits of the move matched with research about what actually occurred. According to the supporters of the move, the...

The globalists who hijacked both the GOP and Democratic Party subscribe to this “free trade” ideology, and now are worried by grassroots conservative opposition to this destructive doctrine. A Pew Research Center poll for November 4-7, 2010 reported that 63% of professed Tea Party supporters thought that free trade agreements were “bad for U.S.” The Mellman Group and the Alliance for American Manufacturing reported that their poll indicated that 74 percent of self-described Tea Party supporters would support a “national manufacturing strategy to make sure that economic, tax, labor, and trade policies in this country work together to help support...

Nearly everything in a tech store has a label “Made in China” on it. In fact, it is almost difficult to find something that isn’t made in China. Not only has this flood of goods from China put our companies out of business, but they are hurting, even killing people. Counterfeit high end bikes, wheels, and helmets from China are putting people’s life in grave danger.

f we were attacked militarily, our government would do everything in its power to defend its citizens. True American patriots emerged during the reign of the British military. Patrick Henry is famous for shouting, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Today, the U.S. is losing the economic war and we are rapidly spiraling towards the enslavement of ourselves and future generations. We know from history what happens to the losers of military conflict–losers work for the sole benefit of their conquerors under the laws of the new regime. Right now in the U.S. we are in an economic war...

Establishment economists will defend to the death the idea that trade does not destroy jobs. Yes, I’m serious. They believe that. Really. Instead, they say, job losers move into other jobs so there is no net job loss. They also assume that trade deals cause no change in the balance of trade. This matters because when economists study the TPP and other trade deals, their models find no job losses and no future trade imbalances because those bad things are simply assumed away. Those net negatives cannot happen and are not even worth inquiring about. If you think you observed...

Most favored nation status has been controversial over the past couple of decades, especially with China. Nancy Pelosi (back when Democrats gave a crap about some aspects of America. Now both parties have been bought and paid for.) voiced her concerns in June of 1997 in a hearing before the Subcommittee on Trade. At the time, Congress was discussing whether to grant China unconditional MFN status. She rebutted the arguments that were in favor of MFN status to China by demonstrating that it is a bad idea for our jobs and for our economy: “Less than 2 percent of U.S....

“Free trade” means uncontrolled, unrestricted access to our economy for goods often made at less than $4 per hour, tariff- and duty-free. This has devastated our economy and put some of our best companies out of business. “Free trade” has been incredibly costly for the United States. We have seen a steadily rising trade deficit as a result of these failed policies. The United States has not had a trade surplus in 37 years!

The U.S. military is starting to consider how China’s economic growth and the corresponding loss of important American high-tech industries might impact future national security. The Project on National Security Reform run by U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, an independent academic group, has put together a “Vision Working Group” that is assessing various future possible military scenarios including how to deal with a more aggressive China if the United States does not have much left of an industrial base.

We did trade wrong. We could have had a good trade policy that increased trade and raised living standards. We could export more soybeans, airplanes and software, and protect the environment around the world. We could have low-cost goods and encourage democracy, respect for human rights and improved working conditions.

The United States is the very first “post-industrial” nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and then squander their great wealth. However, the pace at which America has declined is beyond comprehension. Thousands of factories have closed and left the United States. The high paying manufacturing jobs are gone leaving the United States with over 92 million UNEMPLOYED citizens.

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In a stairway located 107 seconds away from Dewitt Park in downtown Ithaca, used heroin needles and condoms littered the secluded steps Monday morning -- the same as every morning. That ... is exactly the kind of thing officials hope to prevent with the radical new measures proposed in The Ithaca Plan... essentially allowing addicts to get free heroin and shoot up in a safe, clean locations... Mayor Svante Myrick -- who founded a drug task force to research the heroin epidemic happening in Ithaca two years ago -- is an advocate... In short, heroin assisted therapy...

Young voters should be very cautious in accepting Bernie Sanders' idea that college should be free. Anybody who thinks this socialist-spun fantasy is a responsible plan should look at the rising student loan debt. It is now at $1.3 trillion and is stifling the finances of young people who want to get married, buy a house, buy a car, or pursue any other financial goals. Socialism is a millstone around the necks of America's middle class and poor. Anyone who disagrees with this should look at how the cost of a college education has risen much faster than wages. This...

Following is a schedule for the Democratic National Convention: Saturday, 27 August 2016 11:15 AM Free lunch, medical marijuana, and bus ride to the Convention. Forms distributed for Food Stamp enrollment. 2:30 PM Group Voter Registration for Undocumented Immigrants. 4:00 PM Opening Flag Burning Ceremony (Sponsored by CNN) 4:30 PM "How to Bank $200 Million as a Public Servant and Claim to be Dead Broke" by Hillary Clinton 4:45 PM “How to have a successful career without ever having a job, and still avoid paying taxes!” A Seminar Moderated by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson 5:30 PM Invitation-only $10,000 donation...

Who Wins The Republican Debate? Carson 0% Cruz 48% Bush 0% Christie 0% Trump 22% Rubio 9% Florin 0% Paul 20%