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  • (copied from my weekly letter to our county anti-frack group)

    it appears that the international corporate trade deals are moving forward again, after last week's setback...initially, Boehner's planned Tuesday re-vote on the defeated trade adjustment assistance (TAA) bill was abandoned after consulting with Obama, and plans at midweek were to postpone the House vote on the issue for 6 weeks, so as to coincide with the July 30th expiration of the Highway Trust Fund authorization...that's because in helping defeat the TAA on Friday, Pelosi never said that she intended to stop TPA (trade promotion authority, aka "fast track"), but rather slow it down, and gave indications that Democrats would be willing to allow fast track on trade in exchange for a long term highway funding bill...however, on Thursday, when the national news media was preoccupied with coverage of the Charleston church shooting, the House took a vote on a stand alone version of TPA, which the House Rules Committee had attached to H.R.2146, an uncontroversial police and firemen retirement bill the night before...with 28 Democrats joining all but 50 Republicans, that fast track bill was passed by a 218 to 208 margin and sent to the Senate..

    now, as you'll recall, the Senate defeated just such a stand-alone fast track bill a bit over a month ago, and then turned around and passed it when the TAA, a displaced worker assistance bill, which Republicans tended to oppose, was coupled with it...so now, for this House fast track bill to pass the Senate, at least a handful of the Senate Democrats who originally voted against a stand alone TPA will have to switch their votes to for it, and to do that they must be convinced that the TAA bill that they wanted will pass separately....there are at least two ploys being discussed to achieve that; one would be to link TAA with the bill extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for 10 years; the AGOA, first passed 15 years ago, allows favored African exports, such as clothing and textiles, to enter the US mostly duty-free, and it is usually renewed with broad bi-partisan support...another possibility would be to couple TAA with a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, which finances and insures foreign purchases of US goods, many from Democratic states, and which the Republicans have blocked up until now...presumably, if one or both of these carrots could be dangled in front of the Democrats, enough of them would snap at that lure such that both the House passed stand alone TPA and a TAA bill combined with one of these other trade bills could pass the Senate...then, the TAA bill, with whatever it's attached to, would have to go back to the House for a vote, where it is assumed that a bill with mostly Democrat party initiatives could pass easily, assuming Boehner's co-operation...

    within hours of the House passage of the TPA bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a cloture motion on it, meaning it could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday...however, it's questionable whether Democrats would switch their votes merely on an assurance from McConnell and Boehner that the bargain chip TAA would be allowed to pass; the trustworthiness is just not there...for instance, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell voted for fast track earlier based on a promise that the Senate would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, providing financing needed for foreign Boeing jet purchases; that hasnt happened, and it could thus be a case of "once burnt, twice shy" for Senators who would otherwise allow themselves to be compromised...so we can hope that there is at least enough bad blood among our congresscritters to at least slow this thing down...nonetheless, now that Obama has opportunistically switched parties and has become a Republican, it appears that with a majority of his party in both houses he should eventually be able to push his corporatocratic agenda through...from there, we're probably less than a year away from ramping up exports of our oil and gas to the 11 other countries on the Pacific rim that will be signatories to the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), and then to the rest of the world, as soon as similar treaties can be signed with them...

    Reply to: 28 Democrats just voted to Offshore more Jobs   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Missing from the list of Democrats in the Senate who voted for TPP:
    Ben Cardin (MD) 202 224 4524 @senatorcardin

    Here are the other 13 who were previously mentioned who voted for TPP:

    Michael Bennet (CO) 202 224 5852 @senbennetco
    Maria Cantwell (WA) 202 224 3441 @cantwellpress
    Ben Cardin (MD) 202 224 4524 @senatorcardin
    Tom Carper (DE) 202 224 2441 @senatorcarper
    Chris Coons (DE) 202 224 5042 @sencoonsoffice
    Dianne Feinstein (CA) 202 224 3841 @senfeinstein
    Heidi Heitkamp (ND) 202 224 2043 @senatorheitkamp
    Tim Kaine (VA) 202 224 4024 @senkaineoffice
    Claire McCaskill (MO) 202 224 6154 @mccaskilloffice
    Patty Murray (WA) 202 224 2621 @pattymurray
    Bill Nelson (FL) 202 225 5274 @senbillnelson
    Jeanne Shaheen (NH) 202 224 2841 @senatorshaheen
    Mark Warner (VA) 202 224 2023 @markwarner
    Ron Wyden (OR) 202 224 5244 @ronwyden

    TOTAL -- 14 Democratic Senators who will be voting on fast track. Call and Tweet them.

    SOURCE:
    http://www.flushthetpp.org/tools/

    Reply to: 28 Democrats just voted to Offshore more Jobs   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • My thoughts exactly. i think all are aware by now, Democrats are just as corrupt as GOP. They play games with unions who continue to blow their money on them but they really are bought and paid for by corporations.

    Wyden, he is disgusting. He's in a "blue" state, completely untouchable to get rid off, I'm not sure exactly who he is bought and paid for, I think Nike, Intel and the timber industry but he could care less what his constituents think and just ignores the entire concept of being there to represent others.

    So many like this, Congress is simply a power cash cow for these people. Dianne Feinstein is another, completely untouchable, 100% bought and paid for, corrupt.

    Reply to: 28 Democrats just voted to Offshore more Jobs   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Well, sort of...

    When asked if she would vote for fast-track authority on the TPP trade deal, Hillary Clinton told Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston in a recent TV interview: 

    "Right now, I'm focused on making sure we get Trade Adjustment Assistance, and I certainly would not vote for it unless I were absolutely confident we would get Trade Adjustment Assistance."

    So with a bill that might cut Medicare by $700 million to fund assistance for displaced workers (TAA), it appears Hillary would vote for fast-track (TPA) and the secret Asian trade bill (TPP). But for some reason, the National Journal heard Hillary saying:

    "She 'probably' would not vote for fast-track if she were still in the Senate."

     But that's not at all what she actually said.

    Public Citizen writes:

    Today's Senators should have no such confidence. Many of them say "no" outright to the notion that it's a fair deal to Fast Track trade pacts that would offshore the jobs of middle-class workers in exchange for a small amount of assistance for some of those laid off workers. (Know what's better than handing someone some cash after you eliminate their job? Letting them keep their job.) But even those Senators who might be willing to vote yes on Fast Track in exchange for TAA would have to take a huge gamble that TAA would actually become a reality. If they would vote for Fast Track before TAA passes both houses of Congress, Republicans - many of whom deeply oppose TAA - would have little incentive to help Democrats pass TAA. Greg Sargent of The Washington Post explains, "But there’s no way to be certain Republicans will deliver on TAA, because many of them don’t really care about worker assistance and they’d already have achieved the Fast Track they want."

    Reply to: 28 Democrats just voted to Offshore more Jobs   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Yes he did! Check the Congressional record...

    Reply to: Ted Cruz in Hot Water Over Support for Fast Track and Trans-Pacific Partnership   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Congress is scum. Never let a tragedy go to waste. Look at what is 100% dominating the headlines and news....no surprise they would take a quick vote.

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • House passes trade authority bill - CNNPolitics.com: (CNN)The House on Thursday voted to advance legislation to give President Barack Obama fast track authority to negotiate a mammoth Pacific trade deal, reviving the prospects for Obama to achieve a key element of his agenda. The bill, known as TPA, passed by a razor-thin 10 vote margin, with 28 Democrats joining all but 50 Republicans to send the bill to the Senate. The Senate is expected to vote next week on the legislation, when it is also expected to take up a trade assistance measure aimed at winning over Democrats in a separate vote. Thursday's vote came less than a week after House Democrats, in a stunning rebuke to the President, torpedoed the legislation by voting down the trade assistance bill that was tethered to TPA. Now, House and Senate Republican leaders will look to pass both components in separate votes to give Obama the authority and confidence to negotiate a free trade agreement with a dozen countries on the Pacific Rim.

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • BEA explanation. Notice the retail trade industries are where growth is....that implies real production was offshore outsourced. Haven't seen an offshore outsourcing growth detractor estimate in a while, need to go look at that now that the BEA added intellectual property, etc. which is clearly housed outside the U.S. borders.

    Reply to: May Industrial Production Down -0.2% With April Surprise -0.5% Revision   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Here is Roosevelt Institute Senior Economist Adam Hersh's testimony before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific as part of a hearing on "China's Rise: The Strategic Impact of Its Economic and Military Growth" ---

    "The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has less to do with freeing trade, creating jobs, raising wages, or rebalancing geo-politics than it does with rewriting the rules of global trade and investment to favor big businesses at the expense of almost everyone else in society. These rules do not embody economic principles of open competition so much as the preferences of industry lobbyists that had the best seats at the U.S. Trade Representative’s table. The outcome is an agreement that fails to address America’s economic needs and geostrategic goals. Problems with current U.S. model for trade policy do not end with TPP. A multitude of agreements are underway under the same basic template (TTIP and TISA). I will make two points today:

    1. The most fundamental element of national security is a strong national economy, and TPP would weaken our economic base.
    2. TPP fails the geostrategic rationale for checking China’s rise.

    [Read the details here]
    http://www.nextnewdeal.net/statement-congress-tpp-would-weaken-us-econom...

    From his conclusion: "Getting to a deal that serves more than the narrow interests of powerful corporations, their CEOs and shareholders will require Americans be willing to walk away from the agreement we have now."

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • is there anyway to extrapolate what's here into an impact on GDP? the upward revisions of February and March would suggest a stronger 1st quarter, but that would only make the 2nd quarter downturn in April and May that much worse in comparison..

    Reply to: May Industrial Production Down -0.2% With April Surprise -0.5% Revision   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Watch it folks, they are going to try to get the public's attention elsewhere then secretly pass this bill. The walking dead isn't just a TV show, Congress does it all of the time with agendas demanded by corporate interests.

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • In total $198 million was given to Representatives for a YES vote to pass fast track (TPA) — whereas only $23 million was given to stop fact track. Fast track had passed with a mere 2 votes (219-211) when only 218 was needed to pass.
    http://economyincrisis.org/content/almost-200-million-donated-to-represe...

    John Boehner (R-OH) received $5.3 million for a “yea” vote and was the highest paid legislator.
    Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) received $2.4 million for his “yea” vote.
    Paul Ryan (R-WI) received $2.4 million for a “yea” vote and came in at the third highest paid legislator.
    Pat Tiberi (R-OH) follows Paul Ryan, coming in the fourth spot having received $1.6 million for his “yea” vote.

    We also have Democratic heros...

    Joe Crowley (D-NY) received 1.3 million for a “yea” vote and only $72,550 for a “nay” vote and he still voted against it.
    Patrick Murphy (D-FL) received 1.1 million for a “yea” vote and only $213,360 for a “nay” vote and still voted against it.
    Richard Neal D(MA) received $1.1 million for a “yea” vote and a mere $47,625 for a “nay” vote and still voted against it.

    And we have Republican heros...

    Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) received $541,746 for a “yea” vote and no money at all for a “nay” vote and he still voted “nay!”
    Andy Harris (R-MD) received $254,803 for a “yea” vote and no money at all for a “nay” vote and he still voted “nay”.
    Thomas Massie (R-KY) received $250,328 for a “yea” vote and no money at all for a “nay” vote and he still voted “nay.”
    Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) received $180,832 for a “yea” vote and no money at all for a “nay vote” and she still voted “nay.”

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • They are pulling a bait and switch. They act like it has failed so all of the protestors stop, go home, stop calling, etc. Congress then tells constituents they voted against the bill but in truth the second time around they voted for it.

    Classic bait and switch and that's probably what is going on.

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Boehner scheduled another vote on TAA tomorrow...it lost by a 302 to 126 vote on Friday, so is Boehner dumb or does he know something we don't?

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • As people have gotten to know about these trade agreements, their opposition has grown stronger. Ralph Nader summarized a lot of the problems when he wrote “10 Reasons The TPP Is Not A Progressive Trade Agreement“.

    WikiLeaks added fuel to the fire by publishing documents on two agreements. On the TPP, the leaked text showed Big Pharma using TPP against global health and specifically targeting Medicare. In a fact sheet distributed in response to the revelations, Public Citizen’s Global Access to Medicines Program said the text raises critical questions.

    The other Wiki leak was of the much less well known Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). TiSA is the largest treaty, involving 50 nations and “services” that include private services like financial services; public services like the Postal Service and education; hybrid public-private services like health care and individual services like accounting, which make up 80% of the US economy.

    These trade agreements are made worse by their secrecy and the Fast Track law — and the trade deals written by corporate lobbyists only benefits a very few. According to Oxfam, the richest 1% are on pace to control more global wealth than the rest of the 99% combined by 2016 — and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

    According to Bloomberg, one billionaire sees the wealth gap fueling social unrest, and said tension between the rich and poor is set to escalate as robots and artificial intelligence fuel mass unemployment: “We cannot have 0.1 percent of 0.1 percent taking all the spoils. It’s unfair and it is not sustainable.”

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • At the Washington Post Larry Summers says that losing the Asian TPP trade agreement "would strengthen the hands of companies overseas at the expense of U.S. firms. Ultimately, having a world in which U.S. companies systematically lose ground to foreign rivals would not work out to the advantage of American workers."

    Questions:

    1) Have past trade agreements worked primarily to the advantage of American workers?

    2) Can anyone name just EXACTLY who these foreign rivals are that Larry Summers speaks of?

    3) Can anyone tells us just EXACTLY how U.S. companies are currently struggling to compete against foreign companies?

    4) Aren't most of these companies who want TPP mostly "multi-national" corporations — and sometimes have people from several different countries sitting on their board of directors?

    5) Many times don't these corporate executives also sit simultaneously on other board of directors for other multi-national corporations, and may be competing against themselves? 

    6) With all the mergers and acquisitions, couldn't these companies also be competing against their own subsidiaries, rather than some mythical foreign rival?

    Larry Summers also says that the current global economy "has supported the greatest economic progress in the history of the world in emerging markets and is working spectacularly well for capital and a cosmopolitan elite that moves easily around the world. But being pressed down everywhere are middle-classes who lack the wherewithal to take advantage of new global markets and do not want to compete with low-cost foreign labor. Our challenge now is less to increase globalization than to make the globalization we have work for our citizens."

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Why Clinton will continue to prevaricate on
    TPP, TTIP & Global Treaties/'Arrangements’;
    Final Round?; TPP Done Deal, Congress Just Needs a Bunch of ‘Incentives’ (Secret Goodies from Taxpayers & ‘Considerations’ from those ‘Willing’ to Pay).

    Should Congressmen & Parliamentarians Have to Sully Their ‘Beliefs’ & Sales Pitches with ‘Sordid’ Facts that Come from Actually Reading & Understanding Global Treaties/’Arrangements’? Should They be able to ‘Sully’ Others, or, Should They Only be able to Give Us the Facts so ‘We’ The People can Draw our Own Conclusions?
    And, if they didn’t Read the Treaties, then Who Developed the Treaties & thus, Who Is our ‘Contact’ Person that We can ask Our Questions?
    2 Republican Senators Admit that They Have read the TPP.
    Zero Canadian Admissions.
    Congress/Parliaments; Deluded, or, Deluding; 'IGNORAMUS et IGNORABIMUS' (I do not know & I will Not Know)?

    Is the secrecy surrounding the TPP & the flurry of Global Treaties/'Arrangements' greater, or, less than the secrecy that surrounded The Canadian ‘Cultural Genocide’; Corporate Canada & The Canadian Establishment Still Resolute, Without Remorse & Misleading other Treaty Signatories? As Pres. G.H. Bush said re; the NAFTA ‘dispute resolution’; ‘Well, you should have known…’

    Corporations Cut Costs & Dramatically Increase flat Profits by Not Suing each Other & by Suing the Little Guy (via ‘your’ Gov’t.) who’s ‘Guilty’ even Prior to Tribunals & All of the Time.

    Teaching the Gordon Gekkos’ of Wall St., Congress, et al, some Humility & Integrity via Quantifying?
    ‘Obama’s’ (Corporate America’s) Self-Exploding SECRECY.

    If Not 'Treason', then, there are very compelling arguments for concluding that the corporations, whether they be, foreign, domestic, &/or, a blend, that do not respect the 'lesser' jurisdictions, ie. individual provinces, territories, states, or, municipalities, are not good corporate citizens of the host countries & thus, can be treated as 'persona non grata'.

    Global Treaties/’Arrangements’ with their Secret ‘Death-Star-Chamber’ Tribunals that The Global (non BRICS) Corporate Economy is in the Process of Secretly Passing will Finally Legitimize its Ability to secretly move money around, ie. ‘launder’ without Fear of Legal/government Regulation; ie. It’s their Own Jurisdiction & they Insist that you Pay for it & Not them.

    Will TPP be Okay if ‘US’ corporations can Prove that they Won't Benefit from Partnerships that Try to Disguise that Corporate USA is Circumventing Other ‘Lesser’ Jurisdictions (State/Municipal)?
    ie. Corporations Need Proof of Non Circumvention of 'Lesser' Jurisdictions, or else, 'Non Good Corporate Citizens', & thus, 'Persona Non Grata'

    What is Governors’ Rationale for not Defending Taxpayers; States Colluding with Feds?

    Corporate America’s Last Chance to Legitimize their Fleecing the Little, harmless Guy (95% - 99% of U.S.) Before Tanking the Global (non BRICS) Economy? Exploitable ‘Vulnerabilities’, Holes & Back Doors to Close.
    Can ‘your’ Federal Reps Willingly Answer ‘your’ Questions below If They haven’t Read the TPP & other Global Treaties Just Ask them ‘For the (Your) Record’ & then Share Their Inability with Others.
    Don’t Forget to Demand Your Money Back for ‘Supplementing’ Fed Rep’s Wages & Future Considerations at Incompetency Tribunals.
    How many ‘Preferred’ Shares are You Selling Your Right to Sue The Global Corporate Economy for?

    Fast Tracking TPP & Global Treaties.
    part of corp. US's attempt to Increase $17+ Trillion Debt 'Earning$' & to Legitimize Hidden Earning$ in Untouchable Foreign Banks.
    Time to REPATRIATE 'Earnings'; NO FOREIGN Accountants, Banks, Services, etc.
    NO Trickle Down from Hiding ‘Earnings’ in Secret Off-Shore Accounts.

    Global Treaties Not about How Much Trade, but, How to & Who to Trade with to 'Undermine' AIIB.
    Shifting Costs to harmless Non Shareholders to Inflate ‘Profits & Dividends’.
    Is it Time to Cool off the 'Stockbrokers' again; Buy Gold?
    TPP & Global Corporate Treaties/’Arrangements more about Tort ‘Abolishment’ than Tort ‘Reform’?

    Making the leaders of TPP, Shareholders, et al, 'Persona non Grata'; Shareholders' Meetings I.D. Toxic Neighbors, In-laws, et al?

    Corporate Canada’s, via PM Harper, Perilous Deprivation of TPP, C-CIT, CETA, et al, Signatories of Due Diligence Info (The WAD Accord/Compensation), May Hurt Corp.Can & Shareholders More than the Rest (95% - 99%) of citizens of Canada, US, EU, Trans Pacific nations, or, may not…

    But, If Not PUTIN; 'The WHITE KNIGHT', then Who Do YOU Want to Bankroll the Saving of the harmless NON shareholders of the World from Fast Tracking TPP's, CETA's (TTIP) Secret 'Death-Star-Chamber' Tribunal Penalties?
    Will Iran, China, the Muslim World, et al, Support Putin in Suits?
    How about Warren Buffett, &/or, the 'coveted' Hong Kong investor, et al?
    ***
    FULL Articles, see; davidehsmith.wordpress.com
    ***
    Please consider sharing the enclosed information & questions with 10 friends who will share it with 10 others...

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • Ted cruz did NOT vote for that, he wasn't even there!!!!! Get your facts right!

    Reply to: Ted Cruz in Hot Water Over Support for Fast Track and Trans-Pacific Partnership   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:
  • She just came out, subtly on how TPP is a bad deal for U.S. workers. Problem is, she's saying they need to negotiate the "best deal"....well, letting multinationals rule the world and trade cheap labor ain't no deal and of course the devil is in the details.

    Personally her track record implies she would be tougher than Obama on trade but how tough, unknown.
    I doubt she would go as far as Bernie Sanders would of course.

    Reply to: Is TPP Dead? What does Hillary think?   9 years 4 months ago
    EPer:

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