As a senior in college, I had to take an upper-level course to complete my political science degree. I really wanted a class in state politics, but given that I needed one more science class to graduate and the only time meteorology — which was the most interesting one (and supposedly easiest, although I would debate that any day) to me — was offered was at the same time as the state politics class, I settled for a class on International politics and globalization.
The class basically centered on two events. Since it was spring, 2003 and we were on the cusp of invading Iraq, the majority of classtime was spent investigating and dissecting that situation, complete with a liberal professor’s rantings on how it was a terrible idea. Turns out he was right after all.
But we also spent at least a month on NAFTA and its effect on the future. Surprisingly, the prof and most of the class came to the conclusion that NAFTA and other free trade agreements were inevitable in an ever-increasingly global economy. I was skeptical, but arguments from Thomas Friedman and his ilk were sufficient enough to sway me.
Turns out I may have been wrong on that one. In hindsight, after a few years of watching manufacturing jobs leave and oil skyrocket to $4 a gallon, maybe NAFTA wasn’t a good idea after all. I would suggest that, even moreso than the credit crisis or the housing market crunch, deals like NAFTA have us in our current economic pickle. Follow with me.
There was a time when a high school graduate, or even a dropout, could get a good-paying job at a local plant and live a middle-class lifestyle right here in town. Now, I have friends that drive up to an hour to work because they cannot find a good-paying job in town — one that doesn’t require an advanced degree.
That commute eats up their paycheck because of the gas prices. Then the mortgage payment is due. And add to that the skyrocketing costs of food and energy because of the gas prices. It’s no wonder we are currently struggling.
Go back to school, you say. Get trained for a good-paying job. For a single mother living paycheck to paycheck, that’s much easier said than done. I have a bachelor’s degree and I wouldn’t be qualified for most of the jobs at Wyeth or any other high-tech manufacturer in town.
So as you cast your ballot in the primary next month, you may want to think about this. Sadly, it’s unlikely that such agreements will ever die until they take down the country with them, especially not in the next election cycle. Hillary Clinton was first lady when NAFTA was passed, and her husband worked hard for it. John McCain is a Republican, so good luck getting him to pass anything that is anti-trade. And Barack Obama, well, I’m sure he could spin a good tale about how heartbreaking the trade agreements are, but I doubt he would have the gumption to stand up to free traders and return fairness to the American economy.
We’re doomed.
I was watching John Oliver’s stand-up performance last night on Comedy Central, and he had a great idea for leveling the playing field. Each product made in a foreign country by exploited workers should come with a label that includes a Wall Street business man urinating on a kid working in a factory, similar tot he ones you see on the backs of pick-up trucks in town. I can’t find it on Google yet, but I think it is a great idea. People need to know that those toys and clothes that they are buying at Wal-Mart are killing them and their wallet.
