Margaret Flowers

There was a large rally at the Capitol in Madison Wisconsin by attendees of the Democracy Convention and local citizens. They were protesting against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This trade agreement is generally referred to as ‘NAFTA on Steroids”.

To be clear, while the Trans Pacific Partnership is an agreement between nations, it is really an agreement for businesses to maximize profits at the expense of workers. It is an agreement designed to pit workers in countries with slave labor wages against countries with a higher standard of living.

Even when perusing the government site where the state of the agreement is written about, one cannot see any benefits for the average American worker. One cannot see how it will either increase wages or the standard of living of Americans.

Public Citizen describes the agreement as the corporate power tool for the 1%.

Have you heard? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement is a stealthy policy being pressed by corporate America, a dream of the 1 percent that in one blow could: offshore millions of American jobs,



free the banksters from oversight,



ban Buy America policies needed to create green jobs and rebuild our economy,



decrease access to medicine,



flood the U.S. with unsafe food and products,



and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards. Closed-door talks are on-going between the U.S. and Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam; with other countries, including China, potentially joining later. 600 corporate advisors have access to the text, while the public, Members of Congress, journalists, and civil society are excluded. And so far what we know about what's in there is very scary! [Source]

Going forward it is imperative that every American worker fight the passage of this agreement. The survival of what is left of the American Standard of living is at stake.



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