Replies

I agree, but alas "Free Trade" is the mantra of both major political parties. I've read the arguments for years around this joint and I must say it gets as emotional as evolution vs. creationism.

The problem is the way economics is taught in colleges and classrooms. Every freaking job that leaves this country gets an FR salutation that it is "whip and buggy" technology. To that analogy I must strongly disagree. Whips and buggies went (practically) out of existance. TV's, underwear, Hersheys chocolates... manufacturing such items are not obsolete. It would be refreshing to be able to "choose" to buy something "made in America" that plugs into the wall.

The trading "system" (WTO etc) is not the only culprit here. Government regulation and taxes will kill any incentive to revamp our manufacturing base. Mining, manufacturing, agriculture and construction are the only way to "create" wealth. Anything else is just a poker game - moving the chips from one end of the table to another.

How much does it take to convince Americans that the world trading system is designed to screw America's middle class (what is left of it anyway).

More than this. We're talking about a unanimous democracy with no enforcement capacity. All they can do is point out that we are in violation of something we previously agreed to.

Maybe Americans should start asking why their fiscal burden of government is some 2x greater than "Communist" China.

There's more democrats opposed to WTO than Republicans. The only time I ever saw a politician propose an alternative to WTO that I thought was good it was Dick Gephardt in 1984.

The big companies represented by the US Chamber of Commerce provide fewer and fewer jobs for americans in america each decade. That trend first began around 1970. Their interests are not our interests and yet they own our nation's policies with regard to trade. Our nation's policies that stamp out the domestic economy by high tax and unreasonable regulations the Chamber of Commerce will issue position papers on, but they will expend no more political capital than that on efforts to facilitate better economic production here in america. The policies the C of C is interested in really are these WTO types of trade policies that do help their members a lot, but screw over america.

Is the WTO associated with the beast spoken of in Revelations that has seven heads and ten horns that rises out of the ocean to rule the world, or is it just a benign culmination of the normal myopia, jealousy, greed and lust for power that human beings fall victim to?

The Republicans are actively destroying our nation's economy now, through the WTO, through high taxation, through heavy-handed regulation of our economy. Today the Republicans are growing our government's budget at 13.9% annually. What does it matter to a rich guy like Bush? If he loved our nation he'd keep us out of WTO and let our congress have the authority given to it by our founding fathers.