Colombia Free Trade Agreement Letter

[darksideofthenation]

Thank you for making this video. I hope you will keep and like my video response.

[benhur55]

These people obviously have their Union interests at heart not the best interests of America.

Just like with the Teacher's Union. Why do you all think our public education system sucks despite the fact we throw so much money at it?

[dianitapilla]

WHHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! improvements in economy does not mens that poor people is better, the best example for that is brazil... and the fact that we create companies in colombia with jobs for people deosn't means that the workers are gonna have a better life. The country has a very unfair wellness share(?) and create multinacional companies will only mean that the guys that could create them (the rich) will become richer, but the workers will countinue living the rate race they are living now.

[mujaku]

Any college student who kept awake during economics 101 is familiar with the Stolper and Samuelson theorem (1941) that essentially says wage rates for unskilled labor will decline under free trade just as the profit rates for capital will increase. So if you are wondering where all the manufacturing went and why a handful of Americans are filthy rich, well, there you have the answer. It is free trade.  So what do the Republicans want? More free trade!

[benjamaiLL]

And yet NAFTA was signed into law by a Democrat....

Anybody that has taken economics knows of the powers of comparative advantage and knows how flawed your dysfunctional schema is. All free trade does is give us access to better resources that lower the cost of goods.  Just like when farm machinery destroyed farm jobs, just like when robotics destroyed manufacturing jobs, just like how the telegraph destroyed couriers' jobs, free trade destroys jobs, and I am glad it does.

[ikekll]

rjshmo,

Gawd they sure do, let's ship the dark-skinners out! Got any COLOMBIAN reaf, man?

Oh yeah!

[rjshmo]

They all look so liberal, like they are trying too hard. I guess Columbia wants to stay poor forever.

[green3yes]

I dont understand why people have the assumption that Colombia is poor. Colombia is one of the most educated countries in the world. Most people in Colombia are professionals with traditional Family values thats well respected.(teenagers would not get pregnant). I say let it be up to the Colombians on what they feel is best for their country.

[ikekll]

andresfusion, sorry-but your'e full of shet!

FT with Colombia will only benefit GE and the corporate horz. Just ask Morris Busby!

[dianavlog]

I'm colombian, and I know for the big companies with exporting capacities in colombia will be bad to not have that agreement... but for the people in colombia living in the misery getting poor and poor will be good. And for the economy in the country could be good to learn to have mor independency from USA economy.

tnx for this!

[andresfusion]

Can you back this up? The deal is a good one, since goods from the US will be cheaper in Colombia and Colombia will have greater access to the North America market, thus benefiting both sides. "independency from the USA economy" would you rather be more dependent from the Venezuelan economy?

[darksideofthenation]

Yes, i think many latin american people would rather work with the Venezuelan economy than the U.S government.

[andresfusion]

SAD how these people know nothing about the situation of Colombia. I have recently travel to Colombia and have family there. The FTA is GOOD for both countries it will allow US products to have no tariff making them competitive. Also the security has improved dramatically since President Uribe has been in charge, thanks to that he enjoys 80% of popular support from Colombia.

The best way to understand Colombia's reality is to go there and talk with the people.

[dianavlog]

I'm from Colombia... i lived there for 21 years until last year when I moved out... your family in colombia has money and that's why you think is good.... you didn't know the %70 of the population living under the pooverty limits... and the goverment has no volunteed to help them out (though colombia has the 3rd most growing economy of south america. And the goverment is very popular due to the vice president whose family owns the main media press of the country.

[andresfusion]

No they do not. And yes I know there is a lot of poor people there, but its one more reason for the FTA to go forward. The trade agreement will create jobs and a lot of people will get a decent living. Moreover, the president is very popular because people are better off. You cant argue with the improvements in security and the economy since Uribe took office.

[clpsw7]

Even if this is a good agreement, it may be.

Bush has no and I mean no more credibility left on anything. He has screwed the country for so long that no one believes him about anything.The stupid, lying SOB.

[manman15000]

It seems like USA is preparing for Walmart and other multinationals to expand into Colombia. Say goodbye to small businesses there and hello to corporate America. It's sad because colombia will soon loose its wonderous natural resources so that the executives at the top of this pyramid can increase their profits.

[ConsDemo]

If one knocks free trade, it becomes incumbent to discuss the alternative. I don't see evidence trade barriers benefit most people. Protectionism tends to benefit certain industries (both labor and capital within those industries) but usually at the expense of the public at large. Although freer trade may cause dislocation for some people, the public at a whole tends to benefit. I can't find evidence of a protectionist success story worth copying.

[carlosjwj]

There are many, including the USA's high tarrifs after WWII that allowed its manufacturing sector to become dominant globally.

[ConsDemo]

carlosjwj, you may want to check the history. The US increased trade barriers in 1930 (the Smoot-Hawley Act) and it greatly accelerated the Great Depression. Trade barriers were lowered after that. The post-WWII dominance owed to the fact that later economic powerhouses Japan and Germany were in shambles, not because of domestic protectionism.

[glassdimly]

Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Peace Prize winning economist, has a book called, "Globalization and its Discontents." It it, he gives many examples of protectionism that worked historically: for instance, Malaysia and China during the East Asian Financial Crisis. Or, for an American example: Roosevelt's New Deal.

Finally, for a failure of "free" trade, look at Africa. Or, Russia's sudden move towards "free" markets, which resulted in the looting and burining of their economy.

[Htaed1239]

Why does every other developed nation in the world have protectionist policies and are developing nicely?

[ConsDemo]

"Why does every other developed nation in the world have protectionist policies and are developing nicely?"

All other developed countries do not have protectionist policies. The Europeans generally have trade barriers no higher than that of the US. Japan was arguably a protectionist success story at one time, but it has been experiencing sluggish growth for going on two decades.

[pjbokc]

thank you for this valuable information; how do other presidential candidates stand on this?

[ruthag]

As far as I know, Kucinich & Edwards are the only ones who oppose these trade agreements in principle. Other Democratic candidates say, We can't justify a trade agreement with Colombia because of human rights problems--which implies that if Colombia cleaned up its act just a little, the U.S. could "reward" it by ratifying this agreement. Even so, these kinds of agreements are BAD for the people of both nations. I don't know if any Republican candidates oppose the agreement with Colombia.

[SaraKoopman]

thanks for doing this guys - great organizing tactic!

Sara Koopman

[TerezaCoraggio]

Wow! Chicago and Portland are such an inspiration for their organized and unified response to global injustice. I've been waiting for someone to put all the facts together to counter the spin, and the letter gives me just the information I needed. Thank you, Chicago!

[manolini5702]

Excellent initiative. Signing a "free trade agreement" with Colombia ratifies the signing parties as accomplices to the atrocities and systematic empoverishment of people being perpetrated by corporate transnational capital. Hopefully many more letters and mobilizations will come forward

[closethesoa]

Labor Leaders -- "Enemy Targets" of School of the Americas Terror

Union organizers are among the primary targets of SOA violence in Colombia. SOA graduates have been directly responsible for the slaying of striking workers and the killing of union organizers.

[hvoss]

In 1996, the Pentagon was forced to release SOA training manuals. These manuals advocated interrogation techniques such as false imprisonment, torture and execution. According to these manuals, these techniques should be used on those who

* support "union organizing or recruiting",

* distribute "propaganda in favor of the interests of workers",

* "Sympathize with demonstrators or strikes".

* make "accusations that the government has failed to meet the basic needs of the people"

[54683NS]

Free Trade is a euphemism for Investor Rights. FTAs are mechanisms imposed on the general population by concentrated economic power to further entrench their privileges and to enhance their capacity to exploit resources, labor and environment.

[glassdimly]

This letter will be presented to Obama's office on the morning of January 28th (tomorrow). The letter urges Obama to take a public stance against the Colombia FTA.

I hope that he does so.

[ruthag]

We WISH Obama would sign it! The letter is directed to him and to Senator Durbin, and copied to other Illinois congresspeople.

Charity, you did an awesome job!

[pigoprha]

did Obama sign this