Reply #7: I understand what you're saying,

[Le Taz Hot]

OTOH, as the only remaining superpower don't we have a moral imperative to lead the fight for human rights? Dean's not saying he's going to scrap all treaties and basically blackmail other countries into bettering their who do not meet our workers' rights standards. He acknowledges that these changes must come incrimentally and that he wants to work WITH other countries and offer incentives to reduce and/or eliminate worker exploitation and abuses.

If we have any chance at all to pull this off, it will have to be carefully and diplomatically finessed. The current administration* is incapable of such.

Two additional points about free trade from the Dean camp:
1) Dean advocates PENALIZING those companies who move our jobs offshore and are STILL getting tax benefits. He advocates pulling their tax breaks, subsidies, and all the other sweatheart deals he's made with the best Congress money can buy.
2) Dean advocates tax breaks for small business. Most people are unaware that small businesses make up 80% of the job market in this country. The question is why are we giving the breaks only to the big boys who move American jobs overseas and reap obcene profits in the process?

Most of the other Democrats repeat the same old Democratic mantra regarding jump-starting the economy: "Invest in infrastructure" (a la Roosevelt's WPA programs). It's the same as the Republican mantra of "tax cuts will solve everything."

Dean is taking a completely different tack by saying yes, invest in schools, infrastructure, etc., but make it easier for the American people to start and maintain small, locally owned business that employ people in THIS country. He's saying Americans have great ideas for new businesses all the time -- it's one of our specialties -- why not eliminate the obstacles and let them do what they do best?