Weekly Address: American Jobs Through Exports to Latin America

[cal04]

Run time: 03:52 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHIHTLBPFs   Posted on YouTube: March 18, 2011 By YouTube Member: whitehouse Views on YouTube: 106   Posted on DU: March 19, 2011 By DU Member: cal04 Views on DU: 883

 
The President Announces Economic Lessons to be Learned from Countries on the Latin America Trip
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/19/president-announces-economic-lessons-be-learned-countries-latin-america-

[dotymed]

1. Why "Socialist" Latin America?

A place where Workers own and manage factories. A place with Universal health care and Strong Unions? Countries that have nationalized big oil companies like BP,. etc..
Why? Because this is how a population thrives and therefore needs to import items for their growing economy. I almost said "middle class", but they are much less about a "class system" and much more about EQUALITY FOR ALL.
It would be wonderful if America would import our political ideology from these nations. The same nations that a few years ago, we were (maybe still are, Obama has changed nothing else) covertly attempting to overthrow their government.
The elite and MIC did not want Americans to see how these once third world countries (because we kept installing puppet regimes), were Nationalizing industries and ending poverty while building FAIR economies for their citizens. To do this , they had to overcome a lot of (mainly American elite) treason and attempted coups. It is amazing that they are so willing to trade with America. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer", may be the reason...

[jacquelope]

2. Remember I warned you...

before you know it, more jobs will be flowing from here to Latin America than are already going there.

[Amonester]

3. 'Middleman' managements export products made in China there.

At least 'middleman' jobs get created in the U.S., but how many jobs would be created if the products themselves were assembled in the U.S.?

[neoralme]

4. Yeah, right. lol

[JJW]

5. He promised to renegotiate NAFTA

so far, nota!

[grahamhgreen]

6. That means selling those same goods here, creates even more jobs than selling abroad,

Thats why we need to return american jobs by getting rid of the slave trade agreements!

[Plucketeer]

7. Ya hire a guy with promise, and put him up in the White House

Reckon they've ever analysed the air in that mansion??? It seems that taking up residence there does STRANGE things to folks. I think the next time we vote someone to DC, we need to bivouac them on the north lawn. Seriously! Set up field kitchens and showers - the whole effect. Let 'em eat "soup kitchen" menu fare. Let 'em experience a taste of what it's like to live in this "great country" for so many of the forgotten - many of whom cast votes for them. Let them live like the poor dupes we hire to fight our endless chain of wars. Give 'em an aging mini-van or compact sedan for them and their family to spend their nights in - no gasoline to keep the car warm. As it is, they only know the lifestyle of those who buy whatever and whoever they want.
If they manage to truly improve OUR lot to a degree - let them have a quonset hut to "step up" to. And when the filthy wealthy are paying as much tax as they can, while still living in luxury - let our "leader" move into OUR White House.

[Populist_Prole]

8. They still expect us to believe this canard, after the past 20 years???

They ( corporate owned policy makers ) must literally believe we were born yesterday. Do they continue to peddle this obviously debunked claim that FTA's = "Markets for our products" in the hope that there still may be somepeople who haven't been paying attention until now?

I wish they'd just stop whitewashing this and speak their minds. I'd rather them say, "Yeah, this is really just about allowing freer access to already established US markets for products made by US manufacturers based in Latin America, which will facilitate a significant fattening of the bottom line for them....Oh, and by the way, you'll continue to vote for us anyway since the Republicans are even worse and we throw a bone to liberals on certain social issues".

[JJW]

9. All this free trade got me (college educated)

was a part time position at Walmart stocking shelves with Asian made junk for minimum wage with no health care benefits. Due to out of pocket hospital bills, I'm living in a rusty old, broken down Honda Civic. I dream of buying a tent some day, on lay away and moving into one of those Bush/Obama tent cities.

[JDPriestly]

10. Name one trade agreement that we have entered into that has

resulted in a net gain of jobs.

Obama's speech conceals the crucial statistic. That is the ratio between the monetary value of the goods and services we import or buy from our trading partners and the goods and services we expert or sell to our trading partners.

Increasing exports to other countries may create a few jobs. But we are better off not exporting to other countries if the agreements that make those exports possible result in fewer jobs.

Thus far, our trade agreements have caused us to export more jobs than to create jobs in the US.

I consider Obama's speech to be less than honest, less than forthright. He is using rhetorical tricks to fool his listeners. He jumps to conclusions that cannot be logically draw from the facts that he presents. He is Harvard-educated. He can do better than that. He really should be ashamed of this talk.

[Populist_Prole]

11. Correct. It's the NET effect on jobs that matter.

All the pundits, pols, and most economists whitewash the loss of good jobs and focus on what jobs could theoretically be gained by exports. What sort of bookkeeping is that? Record all the income and none of the expenses? Oh that's right, the "expenses" in this case are those unsavory marginalized millions in the working class. No worry.

What was that one pithy quote Noam Chomsky said, of a poem? Forgive me if my exact wording is a casualty of my memory:

The people talk, they always will, but that's just idle chatter-

Our system works, for all of us, or at least those of us that matter.