Chris
06-07-2015, 10:58 AM
As pointed out in this piece, opposition to free trade puts you squarely on the left.
Trans Pacific Partnership Is about Control, Not Free Trade (http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/trans-pacific-partnership-is-about-control-not-free-trade)
...Those in favor of free enterprise, free trade, capitalism, and private property rights should oppose the TPP and the fast-track authority that makes its passage more likely....
...both left and right are wrong about the TPP. The left is opposing the TPP for the wrong reasons, and the right and corporate interests (allied with Obama) are using disingenuous arguments to push the TPP.
...First, let’s not take the state at its word. It is undeniable that free trade is good. A smattering of basic economics is all one needs to grasp this simple point. When A and B trade, each is better off after the exchange.
...A real free trade policy would amount to a couple of sentences, not thousands of pages: one nation announcing that all imports and exports to and from that nation are to be exempt from duties, controls, quotas, tariffs. That is free trade. Instead, we have the managed trade of the last 60-70 years.
...Second, there are better ways to foster trade, namely: unilaterally reduce tariffs and trade barriers.
Third, the TPP aims to twist the arms of our trading partners to get them to adopt stronger, US-style intellectual property rights for the benefit of the US music, movie, and pharmaceutical industries, as has been happening for decades now.
...Leftists who oppose the TPP because they oppose free trade are wrong to oppose free trade, but they are also wrong in assuming that the TPP is really about free trade: it is about managed trade, and IP.
The TPP is just the latest instance of the US federal government employing its post-WWII dominance to advance the interests of the music, movie, and pharmaceutical industries in the US, at the expense of US consumers and foreigners....
Trans Pacific Partnership Is about Control, Not Free Trade (http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/trans-pacific-partnership-is-about-control-not-free-trade)
...Those in favor of free enterprise, free trade, capitalism, and private property rights should oppose the TPP and the fast-track authority that makes its passage more likely....
...both left and right are wrong about the TPP. The left is opposing the TPP for the wrong reasons, and the right and corporate interests (allied with Obama) are using disingenuous arguments to push the TPP.
...First, let’s not take the state at its word. It is undeniable that free trade is good. A smattering of basic economics is all one needs to grasp this simple point. When A and B trade, each is better off after the exchange.
...A real free trade policy would amount to a couple of sentences, not thousands of pages: one nation announcing that all imports and exports to and from that nation are to be exempt from duties, controls, quotas, tariffs. That is free trade. Instead, we have the managed trade of the last 60-70 years.
...Second, there are better ways to foster trade, namely: unilaterally reduce tariffs and trade barriers.
Third, the TPP aims to twist the arms of our trading partners to get them to adopt stronger, US-style intellectual property rights for the benefit of the US music, movie, and pharmaceutical industries, as has been happening for decades now.
...Leftists who oppose the TPP because they oppose free trade are wrong to oppose free trade, but they are also wrong in assuming that the TPP is really about free trade: it is about managed trade, and IP.
The TPP is just the latest instance of the US federal government employing its post-WWII dominance to advance the interests of the music, movie, and pharmaceutical industries in the US, at the expense of US consumers and foreigners....