The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will dramatically undermine the housing rights of Americans, primarily by prohibiting meaningful government control over financial institutions. Americans have already lost over five million homes to foreclosure as a result of the 2008 economic collapse, you can read how the housing market was before and after the crash on the Northeastern University blog site. Virtually every regulatory measure that could have averted this crisis will now be banned by the TPP.

According to the Citizen Trade Campaign, the TPP will put an end to any government policy that:

Imposes any limit whatsoever on the size of banks (“too big to fail”)

Establishes a Glass-Steagell-style firewall between different types of financial institutions

Limits or bans any specific financial derivatives no matter how toxic or risky

Enacts capital controls designed to protect national currencies against speculation

The TPP includes an “investor-state” provision that specifically grants global banks the power to challenge any law or regulation of any country that reduces their profits as a “regulatory taking”. It could then take that country to a private international tribunal that entirely circumvents all public judicial authorities. The tribunal would be authorized to force countries to either rescind their laws or pay “damages” from their treasuries directly to global corporations.

The TPP will not only allow further speculative bubbles like the 2000s sub-prime mortgage scandal: it will make them much bigger and make them inevitable.

Finally, the TPP will undermine housing affordability by weakening government affordable housing programs and further shredding public and HUD-subsidized housing all across the country. It will accomplish this not only through corporate seizure of public assets, but also by dramatically eroding the tax base by offshoring millions of jobs.

The TPP will outlaw almost every single housing and financial provision in the Stein-Honkala Green New Deal, and effectively nullify the right to housing. Public banks would be out of the question. The TPP would enthrone the power of corporations and tear down the very vision of human rights that has inspired Americans for over 200 years.

http://greenshadowcabinet.us/member-profile/7547

source: http://greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/tpp-would-make-us-housing-crisis-much-worse

TPP would make health care even more expensive, less accountable, less accessible

June 21, 2013