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In reply to the discussion: Tran Pacific Plan about to end almost all American Dreams [View all]truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Published a 2013 article on Obama's major involvement during the State of The Union address week era
http://inthesetimes.com/article/14571/will_president_obama_push_an_offshoring_agenda_in_sotu/
Yes, He Did: Obama Plugged Trans-Pacific Partnership While Touting Middle Class Growth
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an imminent threat to American workersand it has the Obama administrations full support.
BY Roger Bybee
If the TPP were a central topic of debate in Congress and in the news, it would be certain to trigger alarm bells among a broad swath of Americans.
Updated at 10p.m. EST on February 12 after the State of the Union address.
President Obama, who disappointed workers rights advocates by snubbing labor in his inaugural speech, likely horrified them during Tuesday's State of the Union by not only overlooking unions again but also devoting a section of the speech to promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a gigantic trade pact that has been described by Public Citizens Global Trade Watch director Lori Wallach as NAFTA on steroids. By uniting the U.S. and 10 other nations along the Pacific Rim, the TPP threatens to spur the increased offshoring of jobs to Vietnam and Malaysia, which are increasingly being touted as even lower-wage alternatives to the miserable but rising wages prevailing in China.
Near the end of his State of the Union Address, the president announced:
We should remember that todays world presents not only dangers, but opportunities. To boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend to complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership.
By pushing the TPP, Obama is fundamentally undermining his promise to build an economy that works for everyone, andas Bill Clinton did with NAFTAdeeply alienating a substantial portion of his base along with much of the general public. No less than 53 percent of Americans are convinced that free trade has sapped Americas economic vigor.