In a move that campaigners say highlights the power of public pressure, European lawmakers this week postponed a debate and vote on a key and highly contentious resolution within the pending Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), stalling the advancement of the world's biggest so-called free trade agreement.
Who here thinks that this could happen in the U.S.? With our soldout ârepresentativesâ, including the Democrats, parroting Obummerâs shameless rhetoric about what a great deal this is for Americans it looks like a done deal. The whores in the main$tream media say so as well. However, the more we find out about the true nature of the TPP (thanks to Wikileaks, etal) the more vile it becomes. Not only are we not allowed to read the provisions (because of ânational securityâ) but now we are told that we wonât be able to for years after it passes. My guess is that the corpos and their lapdogs in government want some time to pass so that we will get used to the new regime taking away our very sovereignty and 5 years down the road we wonât even be outraged anymore. There will be new, immediate worries (many caused by the TPP) to hold our attention. âNAFTA on steroidsâ indeed. Our republic is withering before our very eyes but hey, the Dow is at 18,000. In the corporate world that would be referred to as a âfair tradeâ.
My House representative, Derek Kilmer (D-WA) is all in favor of it, plus Fast Track. He is one of the âNew Demosâ who are supposedly âliberalâ on social issues and fairly conservative on economic ones. There is a real irony here because when you factor in the damage done by all of those conservative economic policies, a trillion dollar yearly military/intelligence budget and massive corporate tax avoidance it turns out that there is little money left for social programs. Hence, the popularity in both parties for âausterityâ measures. Remember Barry the Liarâs support of the âGrand Bargainâ?
I would be delighted to see the TPP at least delayed but to the right-wing and their corporate masters this is all part of a long-term strategy to reshape the country into an unregulated, privatized country of worker bees with minimum wages, minimum benefits and minimum expectations. Who of us who are old enough to have grown up in the 1950s could have envisaged that our "exceptional"country could have fallen so low?
The delay in releasing TPP follows the same model as Obamaâs ACA slashing the tax deduction for medical insurance starting in 2018, when he is safely out of office and enjoying the 8 figure annual corporate speaking fee income that the Clintons do. Many of the Senate TPP yes votes and all of the House yes votes are up for re-election in 2016 and 2018 and donât want TPP haunting their campaigns.
Looks like Barry incorporated the grand bargain austerity measures (that he and the GOP fumbled in 2011) into TTP and TTIP to reassure his corporate paymasters.
We can only hope that the 99% can hang on to âminimum wages, minimum benefits and minimum expectationsâ. Orders from the 1% to the politicians they own are NO MINIMUM WAGE, NO MINIMUM BENEFITS, WITH THE âINVISIBLE HAND OF THE MARKETâ DETERMINING WAGES, BENEFITS AND OTHER OUTCOMES.
Seems to me that you have it pretty well wrapped up. One dark note that I have noticed is these attacks on medicare and Soc Sec. These coupled with a serious TPP fiddling with âthreats to profitsâ rules and tribunals make it obviois that once a worker is no longer productive the ice flow awaits.
âCaving to Public Pressureâ No, you donât âcaveâ to public pressure you respond to it, perhaps even yield to it if you are a democracy. Cave is such a negative word an implied giving in to the powers of darkness not joining the move into the light.
And whatâs up with so many comments about TPP when this article is about TTIP? Of course, one can move from one to the other but I canât see that the remarks even noticed that they are talking about a different treaty, at least in name and geographical location.
And letâs keep in mind that there are three, TPP, TTIP and TiSA. I think it is important to keep track of these as separate and equally distressing attacks on working people and the environment so no one thinks the battle is over based on the outcome of just one of these.
