Hey, I'm all in favor of tax reform -- I think that's one of the few things that government can actually do to help the situation. That 45% that they are taking is pretty much criminal -- you certainly have my sympathy on that.
I appreciate that you're in a tough situation. Where I do have a problem is that you are blaming the government for what a business had done and seem to be expecting the government to fix things for you. The US government just doesn't do that sort of thing -- when it has tried, it certainly hasn't done them well.
And while it is too late to change the past, in retrospect you really should have taken advantage of the government assistance when you had the chance (and by all means, take it now if you can get it) -- you've been taxed enough to pay for these programs, you should have no qualms about using them. Even unemployment insurance is a tax on your employer's payroll, which is really a hidden tax on you.
What's going on was pretty much illegal under the laws we had prior to Nafta; so, what you're saying is patently false. Nafta did away with anti dumping measures. The government by doing that set the stage for what is happening now. It's called cause and effect, sir. One company outsourced and started competing with others using labor rates available in another country. Next thing you know, those companies are competing with the company I work for and force them to do the same or go out of business. It has tentacles. The client we represent is putting pressure on EDS and all it's suppliers to do the same. And it's one of the big 3. That's a whoppin chunk of the US economy. So, you really need to catch up with all due respect.
As far as government assistance is concerned, you need to go check out what government assistance is available for IT workers put out of work by outsourcing. I can tell you what it is right now because that's the first thing the people I work with did - ZERO. No retraining benefits. We don't qualify because "we don't produce a product". It seems everyone has great advice for a situation that doesn't exist for me.