How to stop exporting jobs {Henry Lamb}

WorldNetDaily / Commentary ^ | Posted: February 14, 2004 | Henry Lamb

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

WorldNetDaily / Commentary
Henry Lamb

How to stop exporting jobs

Posted: February 14, 2004
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

It's really quite simple. To stop the outflow of American jobs, all that is required is to: repeal the minimum wage law, outlaw labor unions, repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismantle OSHA, abolish the EPA, repeal the Endangered Species Act, abandon the Ecosystem Management Policy, repeal all articles of the Clean Water Act that affect non-navigable waters and, in general, return America to the social status of India, China and the other nations to which American jobs are flowing.

"The loss of 3 million jobs under Bush's leadership," has become the central battle cry of Democrats in this election year. The outflow began long before the current administration and will continue well after November, regardless of who wins the White House.

There is another alternative: force India, China and the other nations to adopt the same environmental and social standards America has adopted, thus imposing the same production costs on foreign producers that American producers must pay. This is the goal of the United Nations, working through the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and several other international institutions.

The goal of the United Nations is to bring the global economy under its regulatory power. The U.N.'s High Level Panel on Financing Development is trying to establish a global mechanism to equalize tax rates and to extract a tax on currency exchange to provide independent funding for a global government. The Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Change Treaty attempted to give an international agency the power to control energy use, in developed countries first, and then globally. The Convention on Biological Diversity and other treaties and agreements seek to control the use of land and natural resources.

These are all components of "sustainable development," a euphemism which means a controlled society, spelled out in great detail in the U.N.'s Agenda 21.

The United States has been a driving force toward sustainable development for many years. The current president is the first since Ronald Reagan to show any reluctance at all to advancing the principles of sustainable development at home and around the world.

Many people, including many in Congress, believe that the sustainable development model is the only solution to the world's economic and environmental problems. The Democratic Socialists of America, the Progressive Caucus, most of the Democrats in Congress and many Republicans actually advocate this policy. Of course, the idea of free enterprise cannot exist in a managed, or "sustainable," society, but this fact seems to be unimportant to proponents of sustainable development.

Americans will decide whether or not the world continues to move toward a globally managed society by the people elected to Congress and to the White House.

Americans, however, are in a real dilemma: They want the highest paying jobs possible for the work they perform, along with the highest possible environmental, safety and social standards. At the same time, they want to pay the lowest possible price for the goods they buy – even if those goods are produced in India, China or any other nation.

We cannot have both at the same time, unless we allow a third party – the United Nations – to manage the global economy and dictate "fair" wage and tax rates for all producers, and also dictate which products are really needed and which resources may be used to produce them.

The North American Free Trade Agreement and the evolving Free Trade Agreement of the Americas are both major steps toward ultimate economic globalization. While proponents of these agreements may argue to the contrary, they both exacerbate the conditions that beg for third-party oversight. Specifically, the agreements tend to abolish tariffs, making foreign goods much cheaper than domestic goods, while doing nothing to elevate the standards (increase the cost of production) in foreign countries.

This so-called "free trade" is precisely what drives American companies and capital to move to foreign countries where they can produce goods cheaper, to sell in America. This is, in fact, the redistribution of wealth dreamed of by the authors of Agenda 21. The process has begun to diminish the economic power of the United States, while providing new economic opportunity in foreign lands.

The irony is that Americans have made it happen. The policy agenda driven by the DSA, the Progressive Caucus and the other Democrat and Republican proponents of "sustainable development" are responsible for the export of jobs in recent years.

Since the first alternative suggested – repeal of the laws that inflate the cost of production – is not likely to happen, and since the second alternative is already happening, with the approval and support of much of society, those who cherish free enterprise must find a way to save it.

Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization and chairman of Sovereignty International.

THIS article at WND

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

The irony is that Americans have made it happen. The policy agenda driven by the DSA, the Progressive Caucus and the other Democrat and Republican proponents of "sustainable development" are responsible for the export of jobs in recent years.
==================================

All, The destruction of the economy, and the middle class, in the U.S. of A. IS the result of coordinated policies. Coordinated stupidity by these most educated people in the world??? NOT LIKELY!!! Peace and love, George.

[Swanks]

I live near the EPA new palace in RTP, NC. The cost for the building is approaching $450M. 2,000 people work there. Sure there are labs, etc that skew the 'cost per employee sq.ft. equation - but you do the math.

And they're proud to claim much of the building material is recycled. There is not limit to Gov't Agency spending.

[The_Eaglet]

Rep. Blunt Seeks Repeal of McCain-Feingold-Campaign Finance Reform Thread - Day 63

[d14truth]

To stop the outflow of American jobs, all that is required is to: repeal the minimum wage law...

Too bad this one isn't seen as an option--it would give the American public high school 'graduates' a shot at getting an entry-level job on which to build a life and their 'self-esteem', after years of meaningless educational promotions within the failed FEDucation system.

[agitator]

Cue the "free trade" hacks...

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

Since the first alternative suggested – repeal of the laws that inflate the cost of production – is not likely to happen, and since the second alternative is already happening, with the approval and support of much of society, those who cherish free enterprise must find a way to save it.
=============================

Guys, This is an, if not THE, IMPERATIVE for those who would leave their children a "free" world. Peace and love, George.

[marktwain]

It's really quite simple. To stop the outflow of American jobs, all that is required is to: repeal the minimum wage law, outlaw labor unions, repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismantle OSHA, abolish the EPA, repeal the Endangered Species Act, abandon the Ecosystem Management Policy, repeal all articles of the Clean Water Act that affect non-navigable waters and, in general, return America to the social status of India, China and the other nations to which American jobs are flowing.

You don't need to outlaw labor unions, just stop giving them super legal protections. Other than that, the proposed changes only return us back to the U.S. of 1960, not to the status of China or India or any third world country. In fact, China and India have *huge* amounts of social legislation, but are riddled with corruption.

We can and should return toward a limited government republic, and getting the Bush court appointees into the federal system is a good way to continue the Supreme Court's trend back to federalism as evidenced in the Lopez decision.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

WG, You should have been the frst on my "bump". Sorry. Peace and love, George.

[sergeantdave]

Having plodded through a good portion of Agenda 21, I can safely say it's an amalgam of half-truths, soviet collectivism, doom and gloom hysteria, junk science, utopian rants and socialist propaganda. It is hostile toward free enterprise, individual rights and private property, and it elevates the welfare of earth over the rights of man. It's a mix of soviet socialism and European fascism.

The President’s Council on Sustainable Development, organized early in the Clinton administration, is where “smart growth” and “biodiversity conservation” starts. The president’s council borrowed heavily from Agenda 21. Written by NGOs pledged to the UN’s utopian vision of a sweeping world government, Agenda 21 calls for state control of individuals in every aspect of life.

[tahiti]

"...all that is required is to: repeal the minimum wage law,..., repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismantle OSHA, abolish the EPA, repeal the Endangered Species Act..."

Though there is dubious constitutional federal jurisdiction for such laws (commerce clause), all of these laws violate the Bill of Rights.

Amendment V

"...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

"Having plodded through a good portion of Agenda 21, I can safely say it's an amalgam of half-truths, soviet collectivism, doom and gloom hysteria, junk science, utopian rants and socialist propaganda."

Sarge, And obfuscation to the max which makes the "plodding" necessary and a REAL "turn-off" for most of US. Thanks! Peace and love, George.

[yoswif]

Fiscal sustainability is the key, IMO. The GAO says we have to cut spending by half or double taxes to balance the budget by 2004.

If we didn't have the most expensive and inefficient tax and regulatory schemes on the planet, funded by spending levels that are clearly unsustainable, we'd see a lot fewer good paying jobs being taxed, regulated, and litigated out of the country or out of existence.

[FITZ]

The current president is the first since Ronald Reagan to show any reluctance at all to advancing the principles of sustainable development at home and around the world.

Clinton was the first --- his "third way" was not about advancing the principles of sustainable development at home or around the world and he signed NAFTA.

[reed_inthe_wind]

We have a great economy. If we stick to our knitting and remove the domestic problems, we will be better off than if we overreact. The first problem American businessman face is trial lawyers and class action law suits. The new regulation called Sarbannes Oxley needs to be scrapped. Medical malpractice awards need to be capped, and class action lawsuits need to be limited. Regulatory agencies need to be downsized.

[ClintonBeGone]

"It's really quite simple. To stop the outflow of American jobs, all that is required is to: repeal the minimum wage law, outlaw labor unions, repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismantle OSHA, abolish the EPA, repeal the Endangered Species Act, abandon the Ecosystem Management Policy, repeal all articles of the Clean Water Act that affect non-navigable waters and, in general, return America to the social status of India, China and the other nations to which American jobs are flowing."

I wonder how many of the anti-free trade knucleheads would support the author's suggestion? He's certainly right on with his points.

[iopscusa]

Comprehensive analysis of the unique cost burden carried by U.S. Manufacturers from Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. “Now that the magnitude of these underlying costs pressures is understood, it is important that federal and state officials begin to address them with new pro-manufacturing policies,” he said. “Foremost among these should be tax, regulatory, health and legal reforms.”
The Leonard study introduces a “raw cost index” for manufacturers that compares the competitiveness of U.S. producers with those in its nine largest trading partners, and compares costs before and after the cost multipliers have been weighed. “This study dispels the myth that most of our industrialized partners face higher manufacturing costs than we do,” Leonard said. “Shifts in international trade trends have generally been masked and our report shows that American trade is increasingly with developing countries where production costs are considerably lower than in the U.S. Our corporate tax burden is heavier than in eight of our nine largest trading partners, and pollution-abatement costs are significantly higher than in most other developed countries, including the so-called ‘green’ economies of Western Europe.”
“U.S. manufacturing has demonstrated the ability to overcome pure wage differentials with trading partners through innovation, capital investment and productivity,” said James Berges, President of EMERSON. “But when the additional external costs described in this paper are piled on, the task becomes unmanageable, even in the best companies.”
“ There are many self-proclaimed friends of manufacturing expressing concern who are nowhere to be seen when these excessive non-production costs are on the table,” said Jasinowski. “Taken together, external non-production costs have offset a large part of the 54 percent increase in productivity achieved since 1990. It is imperative that our elected representatives at all levels take a hard look at the costs created by their actions – and sometimes lack of action – and the impact on our economy. We simply must forge a more pro-worker, pro-manufacturing climate if our industrial leadership is to be maintained and strengthened.”

To sum this analysis up, our mfr's have become 54% more efficient/productive since 1990 but the extra $$s have gone to EXTERNAL COSTS ie: Government (taxes & regulations), Health Benies and Lawyers instead of to capital investment, with the increasing of wages and jobs....our reward is a loss of jobs and trade due to our inability to be competitive on cost/price. The blame is squarely within our Liberal Government of stupidity. Go to this site for details:
http://www.nam.org/costs.

[Carry_Okie]

...those who cherish free enterprise must find a way to save it.

So when a solution is found and published, why is it that conservatives recoil in fear about real accountability and go on wishing for the government to handle it but be nicer about it?

[Dialup Llama]

>I wonder how many of the anti-free trade knucleheads would support the author's suggestion?

Knucklehead? Its amusing when you consider just what it is that you call free trade. It is system of wage arbitrage and subsidized job offshoring enshrined by 50,000 page 'free trade treaties.' (Does real free trade take a 50,000 page document to manage it? No.)

These systems are made possible only by complex, interlocking gov't legal, labor and tax policies and capital subsidies. Since it benefits large corporations, they pay some allegedly right-wing think tank so falsely call this policy free trade. Since Rush supports it, all the dopes nod their head in agreement: "Free trade. Can't go against that. Its the fault of lazy Americans and overpaid union members."

[Dialup Llama]

As another freeper pointed out (wish I had a link to that post) the system of wage arbitrage and offshoring has been designed to let large companies escape the regulatory and tax burdens described here WITHOUT the need to remove those burdens since they aid the politicians' program of constituent building (vote buying).

[Jim Robinson]

The number one thing we can do to help alleviate the problem is to repeal the Income Tax!! This is a tax on labor and productivity and directly punishes the very thing we're trying to promote. The income tax greatly inflates the cost of every product and service provided by American labor and capital and barely touches imports. Repeal the income tax, repeal the minimum wage laws, and dump the myriad of overburdening regulations punishing American business and labor.