This is one of the many reasons I support John Edwards. He has been among American workers in the last three years and seen firsthand the destruction caused by these deals. Not surprisingly, he has now come out against any new free trade deals, and has become a leading proponent of fair trade.
But, just to oppose something is not enough. I think a candidate must also state their vision on an issue, and offer a sound alternative to the issue they oppose. Edwards has led the way with vision and policy alternatives to the things he opposes. Free trade is no different. Today, Edwards highlights his vision for rebuilding the American Middle-Class, and American manufacturing. I want to look at some of it here.
First, the overview:
Under President Bush, American manufacturing has experienced its sharpest decline in history, losing 3.3 million jobs or nearly one in five manufacturing jobs. More than 40,000 manufacturing facilities have closed since 1999. Manufacturing has suffered more than any other sector of our economy because of currency manipulation, illegal foreign subsidies, bad trade deals, rising energy and health care costs, and a government in Washington that measures economic progress by looking only at Wall Street and not at Main Street. [BLS, 2007; AAM, 2007]
John Edwards grew up in small mill towns and saw firsthand the devastation that happened when the mill closed and the good jobs went away. He believes that manufacturing will always be important to a broad and strong middle class, the true engine of our economy. Compared to other sectors, manufacturing is more productive, pays higher wages and benefits, and creates a greater spillover effect for local job creation. And – according to an Economic Policy Institute report released today – there are 27 million American jobs at risk of being offshored over the next decade, including millions more manufacturing jobs. [Weller, 2004; EPI, 2007]
27 million more Middle-Class jobs? Need I remind any Democrat that the Middle-Class is distinctly American and needs to be protected? Well, Edwards goes on to detail how he would not only protect them, but build a larger Middle-Class once again. Of course, it all starts with smarter trade:
Promoting Smart Trade for American Workers
Bad trade deals, cheap foreign labor, illegal foreign subsidies, and foreign currency manipulation have had a devastating effect on American manufacturing, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. trade. Edwards will enact trade deals only if they make most families better off, considering their impacts on jobs, wages and prices. He will demand and enforce tough labor and environmental standards to prevent a global race to the bottom. Past presidents have failed to enforce trade provisions – including anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws – costing American manufacturers billions in the past decade. Edwards will make top prosecutors at the Department of Justice responsible for enforcing trade agreements. Critically for American manufacturers, Edwards will fight the currency manipulation that has inflated our trade deficit with countries like China and put American manufacturers at an impossible disadvantage. [Weller, 2004; AAM, 2007]
This should make sense to everyone. Why pass trade deals that put Americans at a disadvantage? Why allow other countries to manipulate currency and kill the American Middle-Class? I think Edwards ideas to make the Dept. of Justice responsible for enforcing trade deals is badly needed.
Next, Edwards speaks to something we have failed to do for a long time, invest in America:
Investing in the Skills of American Workers
We need to work with manufacturing companies and workers to help more Americans gain the skills they need in advanced manufacturing. At the same time that millions of manufacturing jobs are being offshored, more than 80 percent of American manufacturers are experiencing a shortage of qualified workers, as the sector employs ever more advanced technologies while Baby Boomers are retiring. Edwards has proposed Training Works, a historic investment in the American workforce that will match willing workers to industry-specific training and high-wage jobs in sectors including manufacturing. Edwards will create partnerships among businesses, labor unions, community colleges and other educators to create targeted skills curricula. He will promote on-the-job training and career ladders that move low-wage workers into high-wage positions in their industries. Career Academies in high schools will help connect young people to high-demand manufacturing jobs as machinists, craft workers, distributors and technicians. Finally, Edwards' College for Everyone program will pay for a full year of public college tuition and books for any qualified student willing to work part-time.
All of these ideas are excellent. If we can throw away $1.6 trillion on death and idiocy in Iraq, we can surely invest a little in our own country and people. Edwards not only critisizes, he has definative plans to create Middle-Class jobs in America once more.
Next, Edwards speaks on his plans for a New Energy Economy:
Building the New Energy Economy
The economic transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources provides an opportunity for reenergizing American manufacturing to build a new energy infrastructure. Last year, venture capital investments in clean energy technology tripled to $2.4 billion. Edwards' New Energy Economy Fund will dedicate $1 billion a year to helping American automakers advance and apply the latest technologies, including biofuels, hybrid and electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, ultra-light materials, and drive train improvements. Edwards will also use federal government procurement and the New Energy Economy Fund to help American manufacturers lead in production of the key technologies – such as solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, and biomass engines – that are projected to become a $226 billion market by 2016. [CAP, 2007; Clean Edge, 2007]
To me, this is one of the most important things we can do. I worked for a Congressional candidate who lost in the primary in 06, Eric Streit who believed that we could use the manufacturing of the fuels of the future to re-open closed down plants in places like Kentucky and surrounding states with high-paying jobs, and a new product to use in America, and export to the world. If we are patriotic about something besides war and use American genius and innovation, we can both end our dependence on foreign oil, and create many high-paying jobs in rural America. It only takes leadership folks, and an investment in our own people. Edwards understands this.
As a recurrent theme, Edwards speaks again on investing in America:
Investing in Research and Innovation
Manufacturing today is highly advanced, including nanotechnology, robotics, lasers and biotech. American manufacturers are responsible for nearly two-thirds of all business R&D. But in 2002, for the first time ever the United States began importing more advanced technology products than it exported, and the deficit in these products is now nearly $40 billion. To help American manufacturers better compete in high-tech production, Edwards will make the Research & Experimentation tax credit permanent. This credit has expired or nearly expired 11 times in the last 25 years, discouraging companies from making long-term commitments to advanced research. Edwards will also modernize our patent laws, which haven't been updated in 50 years, to provide even more incentives for research. [NSF, 2007; Census, 2007; Paul, 2007]
This is an excellent idea. There is no reason we shouldn't lead the world in exports with a willingness to do so. We can shrink our trade deficit, and develop new products for export. We just need a leader who will lead!!
Next Edwards speaks on cutting costs for American Manufacturers:
Cutting Health Care Costs
Nearly half of all small and medium manufacturers say that rising health care costs are their most pressing business problem. Edwards was the first candidate to offer a specific plan to guarantee true universal health care for every man, woman and child in America. He has also proposed an ambitious initiative to make health care more cost-effective by taking on the drug and insurance companies, revolutionizing preventive and chronic care, mandating information technology, and promoting evidence-based medicine. These and other steps will save the average insured family $2,000 to $2,500 a year, and, to the benefit of all employers and especially manufacturers, they will eliminate at least $130 billion a year in wasteful health care spending. Edwards will also create Health Care Markets to offer group rates and lower administrative costs to small businesses. [NAM, 2006]
This shows the genius of the ideas presented by Edwards. They all work together and intertwine to solve many problems at once. Edwards healthcare plan would help Manufacterers right off by cutting their biggest cost, healthcare. It would also cut huge waste right off the top that goes to Big Insurance.
Getting Industry Energy Costs Under Control
Rising energy prices have had a devastating effect on American manufacturing, as industry uses more energy than any other sector of our economy. For example, each $1 increase in natural gas prices adds $3.7 billion to chemical manufacturers' costs alone. Edwards has a plan to fight rising oil and gas prices by creating energy competition, reducing speculation in the oil and gas markets, and bringing down demand through greater fuel efficiency and access to renewable sources. He will also launch a new EfficiencyWorks initiative to dramatically increase the efficiency of America's factories, plants and industrial buildings. A combination of plant retrofits, energy efficient lighting and heating, and on-site heat and power generation using renewable sources can cut industrial energy use by at least 20 percent, simply using currently available technologies. Edwards will also provide responsible employers with free energy efficiency consulting, offer manufacturers tax incentives for energy efficiency investments, and enact power grid and utility reforms to enhance energy conservation and distributed generation. [NAM, 2006; DOE, 2004]
Again, notice how one Edwards plan intertwines with others to solve several problems and waste at once. Edwards plan to give tax incentives only to responsible employers is long overdue.
Which brings us to his next idea:
Eliminating Tax Incentives to Move Offshore
The U.S. tax code now encourages multinational corporations to invest overseas by allowing them to indefinitely defer taxation on their foreign profits. The effective tax rate on foreign non-financial income is now less than 5 percent, far below the U.S. statutory tax rate of 35 percent, and in some cases corporations are actually receiving subsidies to invest overseas through a "negative tax." Edwards will eliminate the benefit of deferral in low-tax countries, ensuring that American companies' profits are taxed when earned at either the U.S. rate or by a foreign country at a comparable rate. This will restore tax fairness and create a more level playing field for U.S. manufacturers that keep their production in America. [Grubert and Mutti, 2002; Altshuler and Grubert, 2001; Treasury, 2000]
This is a great idea whose time is overdue. Why should we give tax breaks to the least patriotic among us whose greed is almost treasonous? We should be taxing businesses that keep their profits overseas more than ones that don't. We also should end any incentives for these companies to act in such an anti-American way. Edwards again is showing courage and leadership on an important issue that effects all workers.
Edwards concludes with an ideas that sets him apart from the others:
Help Workers and Communities Get Back on their Feet
Edwards understands that the 3.3 million workers and 40,000 plants are more than numbers: they are breadwinners, families, and communities. As president, Edwards will improve Trade Adjustment Assistance and expand it to help all workers dislocated by globalization, regardless of their industry, making an estimated 600,000 workers a year eligible. To help communities, Edwards will require the independent U.S. International Trade Commission to determine which communities will face stiffer competition under new trade deals. When a plant closing appears imminent, Edwards will immediately deploy technical assistance and recovery specialists to work with affected employers, unions and local officials just as the government does for areas facing a military base closing. New resources will be available for shoring up the local tax base, attracting new family-sustaining jobs, and helping local businesses expand.
Edwards will give more than lip-service to those who have lost their high-paying jobs, and will fight against more plant closings. He understands these jobs are the cornerstone of many communities. He is ready to fight for us and our jobs!!
Now, I was recently told on this site that I am a member of an "Edwards cult". I would just like to point out that I don't follow Edwards blindly. John Edwards has spoken to every issue important to me in this primary, and has come up with bold new leadership and policies to change the way this country does business. This is yet another example of Edwards earning my support through leadership. I hope undecideds will look at the ideas and policies presented by Edwards and join our "cult" of change in this country. Working together, we can make America the shining example of freedom and fairness in the world once again. Won't you stand with us?
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