12 replies to this topic

[dockman]

you get what you voted for

http://www.washingto...pJuL_story.html

[xg21]

What's even more amazing is there are very few voices in the political realm calling for a repeal of these '.free trades'. The only two I ever hear talking about it are Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich.

And since Sanders is an Independent that leaves just Kucinich as the only Dem to speak out against it. No Republican or Tea Partier would touch it which brings us right back (or as W would say, "it's circular") to the problem being privately funded elections have to end. Time to get the money out.


http://www.getmoneyout.com/




Obama’s decision to appoint GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt as chairman of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness was attacked by critics from the left before the president finished making the announcement. GE makes 60 percent of its profits overseas, and in the 10 years since Immelt took over as CEO, the company has trimmed its payrolls in the United States by 34,000 while adding 25,000 abroad. In July, six months after being appointed chairman of the jobs council, Immelt moved the headquarters of GEs 115-year old X-Ray division from Waukesha, Wis., to Beijing.

If Obama was looking for an expert in how to take advantage of globalization to boost corporate profits, Immelt would be a perfect choice. But domestic job creation? That’s a tougher call.


http://www.salon.com...rica/singleton/

[xg21]

Fact Sheet: Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act (S. 3816)

This bill does three things:

1.Encourages businesses to create jobs in the United States. The legislation exempts businesses from paying the Social Security payroll tax on wages paid to new U.S. employees performing services in the United States. To be eligible, businesses must certify that the U.S. employee is replacing an employee who had been performing similar duties overseas. This payroll tax relief is available for 24 months for employees hired during the three-year period beginning September 22, 2010.

2.Ends Subsidies for Plant Closing Costs. The legislation eliminates subsidies that U.S. taxpayers provide to firms that move facilities offshore. The bill prohibits a firm from taking any deduction, loss or credit for amounts paid in connection with reducing or ending the operation of a trade or business in the U.S. and starting or expanding a similar trade or business overseas. The bill would not, however, apply to any severance payments or costs associated with outplacement services or employee retraining provided to any employees that lose their jobs as a result of the offshoring.

3.Ends Tax Break for Runaway Plants. The legislation ends the federal tax subsidy that rewards U.S. firms that move their production overseas. Under current law, U.S. companies can defer paying U.S. tax on income earned by their foreign subsidiaries until that income is brought back to the United States. This is known as "deferral." Deferral has the effect of putting these firms at a competitive advantage over U.S. firms that hire U.S. workers to make products in the United States. The bill repeals deferral for companies that reduce or close a trade or business in the U.S. and start or expand a similar business overseas for the purpose of importing their products for sale in the United States. U.S. companies that locate facilities abroad in order to sell their products overseas are unaffected by this proposal.


http://sanders.senat...f1-25cc430eeb26

[dockman]

hmmm... 61% of the tea party oppose free trade deals ... but 100% of Obama supports free trade

http://thehill.com/h...t-for-house-gop

[dockman]

here's a good read on free trade... be sure to read #10

http://theeconomicco...-the-globalists

[xg21]

dockman, on October 19 2011 - 09:29 AM, said:

here's a good read on free trade... be sure to read #10 http://theeconomicco...-the-globalists

Good read thanks for that.

I still recall when Free Trades were being sold as Fair Trades. If you wanted to buy chopsticks from China they would come in 'duty free'. What they didn't publicly tell us, allthough some of us opponents saw it at the time (ross perot etc) was that these agreements would enable outsourcing which as we suffer the consequences, has happened. Of course we still have the problem that no one who can make a change seems willing to reverse the rules. China is protectionist and the USA isin't.

This one story lays it out glaringly


If Caterpillar were to produce its miniexcavators domestically and try to export them to China, it would face a stiff, protectionist 30 percent tariff and an equally stiff, mercantilist "tax" in the form of a Chinese currency grossly undervalued by as much as 40 percent. These two "beggar thy neighbor" levies alone make U.S. production for export to China a nonstarter for many American companies. But they are hardly the only problem.

In addition, Caterpillar would also have to scale China's Great Walls of Protectionism — behind which a dizzying array of nontariff barriers coupled with an endemic culture of corruption routinely make it difficult or impossible for foreign corporations to gain a foothold in a wide variety of Chinese markets. This is all the more true because Chinese companies routinely steal the intellectual property of companies like Caterpillar and offer discount knockoffs in the domestic market.

There is no honor among thieves — and no patriotism among American companies working overtime to export their production to China. That's the clear message of the latest decision by Caterpillar Inc. to open a new factory in Wujiang rather than Peoria.

http://www.chicagotr...0,7499800.story

[egghead]

Grow up guys--multinationals have only shareholders to answer to----as for Caterpillar --its China sales hit over 4 billion dollars and Asian trade grew by over 37% while North American sales were stagnant--and Caterpillar was losing share to its competitor Komatsu in this rapidly growing market --(not to mention the repatriated profits are taxed at twice the rate as Asia) So where would you build a plant ? Whille your article is great red meat for the protectionist crowd this little gem in the article "As American corporations have shipped more and more jobs and factories to China, they have realigned their economic interests with their Chinese masters" should tell you just a little about the bias-

Our trade policy was simple--we decided to use someone else's resources to supplement ours while growing incremental consumer demand outside the US--That wasn't a problem in the 80's and 90's--until we became Europe along the way and became uncompetitive

As for China-- We are waiting for the reorientation of China’s economy from exports to consumer spending, The yuan has appreciated 13% against the dollar in the past couple years--and with China's inflation rate continuing to be a problem driving the rise in China’s relative costs we will continue to see China's trade surplus fall--Our markets will do what they always do--they will reorient to become more competitive once again--the chinese consumer will demand more and more goods--while the local chinese costs rise--the market will reach a tipping point and the government will have no choice but to allow cheaper goods to flow in--and those good old local partriotic "chinese companies" that have moved to the US will start sending goods back to the mainland

[xg21]

Well yes and no.

Yes Caterpillar would have to compete with Komatsu or whoever just as other manufacturers would have to but the reason they all have to go there is because the former Great Red Fear imposes it's tariffs on everyone.

From what I can get out of the Caterpillar decision is that they could have built these machines in America and the only thing impeding that was the Tariff which caused them to move that work inside China to realize a profit which is fair enough.

But that in itself is a different example that what we see is happening. While these jobs have gone to China at least, from what we can read, these machines will not be made in china than shipped to back to the USA. It appears these are for China only.

But the unfair thing about it is that if they were shipped to the USA, they would come in 'tariff free'.

I don't think Americans who want to be 'protectionist's' are asking for anything unfair, since China is being 'protectionist'.

[egghead]

this will be Caterpillar's 9th factory in China--and XG--if Caterpillar ships anything back to the US we have a Tariff--its called tax--and it is at 35%--(not to mention the added cost of the entry into port--US hidden Tariffs along with the state of Illinois and the issue with Peoria Cat Factory)The bottom line XG is if your selling product to another country--especially if that country is growing by leaps and bounds it makes great financial sense to build in that country--For example Cat also built new multibillion-dollar bigger factories in China, India, Brazil-guess where the growth is

just look at what the Germans Japanese and Koreans have learned about car manufacturing--want to make more money--you build factories in the country you sell in-(just like Ford and GM did in the 60's and 70's in Europe) Heck just traded my hybrid and bought the new VW Turbo diesel Passatt made in good old Chattanooga Tenn-Turbo diesel get better gas mileage than Hybrids engines last longer and has a range of over 750 miles and it beats the California BIN5/LEV2 emissions standards--I guess I am a little lefty since I'm turning green

[Farley]

you righties are quite a laugh. You yell and scream that Old Bama is a socialist leftie, then you criticize him for embracing the reich's free trade policies.....do you realize how silly it makes you look? But remember I have suggested from the start that Old Bama was a DLC business controlled center right politician....,so why are you so surprized and outraged?

[xg21]

Well if you listen to Limabaugh or hannity you would think that obama is going to be is the second coming of Chinese Plutocracy that American corporates love to embrace while dissing the Cubans and such for being commies. Strange bedfellowes indeed.

[Farley]

and Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, etc are who the reichties listen to for their misinformation and deceitful hate talking points......any casual objective observation will confirm that Old Bama isn't even close to the image portrayed in reichwing media.....

Corporations are not people, and money is NOT speech!

[dockman]

Farley, on October 25 2011 - 09:48 AM, said:

you righties are quite a laugh. You yell and scream that Old Bama is a socialist leftie, then you criticize him for embracing the reich's free trade policies.....do you realize how silly it makes you look? But remember I have suggested from the start that Old Bama was a DLC business controlled center right politician....,so why are you so surprized and outraged?

he's a globalist farley .. and the far left are globalists ... they are for open borders and don't care about immigration laws or american sovereignty ... with these free trade deals they can move toward a one world currency and a centralized world government

hell just listen to your buddy george soros a fine example of a globalist ...hell he funds your favorite web site