Free trade agreements are great for companies large enough to take advantage of them, which is why the Bush administration is so happy with the passage of CAFTA by the Congress. Now, Bush&Co can really say that they are the CEO administration. This is just one more example of how this group represents the interests of Fortune 500’s Mahogany Row over those of the worker and small business.
From The Nation:
“The removal of investment barriers will further open public enterprises in Central American countries to privatization. Moreover, the deal contains dispute-resolution mechanisms similar to NAFTA’s Chapter 11, which allows corporations to sue governments for regulations (including the enforcement of local environmental laws), that they believe infringe on their rights. (Emphasis mine)
Why should foreign corporations have rights that supersede those of a nation’s citizenry? On behalf of their corporate sugar-daddies our government is willing to undermine the legal and political framework of any country in order to provide cheap labor and freedom from environmental regulation. We as Americans allow it for a couple of reasons 1) the majority of this country is just plain ignorant and 2) there is a false sense of superiority that being a worker in the US engenders in our population. For the longest time this was especially true in technology but I have a feeling that the H1 visa has disabused many programmers of this myth. Right now the financial workers are the only ones left that believe their place in the labor force food chain to be unassailable. They should wise up and learn something from their techno brethren – no one is safe from outsourcing and when a program subroutine and some part-time tele-jockey can be scripted tight enough, you are history.
Continue reading “Love in the Time of CAFTA”