This is a new one on me. Please explain how free trade has caused me to borrow against my Master Card. I would have thought it was the lowest interest rates in 25 years and high home values that would have caused an increase in debt levels because every home owner is now able to refinance his/her credit card debt and take some money out of the old house.
Is that a bad thing? I don't know.
The really bad thing is taxes.
Let's see, the oil companies took 18 cents out of a gallon of gas during the "crisis" that we recently experienced with Katrina and such. The imperial Federal Government took 40 cents out of each gallon of gas.
We had hearings in congress where the Senators sat in judgement of the oil company executives and their record profits.
Even though the profit margins were maintained.
Where were the hearings about how much the government takes out of a gallon of gas? Did I miss them? Were they on the TV the night I got drunk? Were they in greek? I'll keep repeating that mantra until someone shoots me. Unless I see you and I shoot you first.
Free trade has depressed wages in this country and increased individual's taxes. It has shifted the burden of taxation from Foreign companies to American citizens. The price of the foreign goods in most cases are sold slightly below the price of American goods. American companies must either cut costs (think pensions, healthcare, wages) or cut jobs to compete with the lower cost of foreign goods because the foreign countries do not have programs like social security, environmental regulations, or a standard of living of an American in most cases. The requirement of cost cutting by American businesses and outsourcing further erode the tax base in America shifting more of the responsibilities for the expense of our way of life on the individual backs. This causes Congress to increase taxes to pay for all the programs that we have in the US. I won't argue the merits of these "programs" I'm against most of them. In sum, the concept of Free trade pushes the tax burden from the company level to the individual. Since you now have to pay .40 a gallon of gas in tax you have less money to spend on you own needs and thus you must charge your Visa. Also Free trade cause a net outflow of wealth from this country giving America less power in the world.