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HomerRamone

(1,112 posts) Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:41 AM Jul 2012

Krugman: Romney helped dismantle "social contract that used to make America a middle-class society"

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/off-and-out-with-mitt-romney/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto

And recently the Washington Post added a further piece of information: Bain invested in companies that specialized in helping other companies get rid of employees, either in the United States or overall, by outsourcing work to outside suppliers and offshoring work to other countries.

The Romney camp went ballistic, accusing the Post of confusing outsourcing and offshoring, but this is a pretty pathetic defense. For one thing, there weren’t any actual errors in the article. For another, it’s simply not true, as the Romney people would have you believe, that domestic outsourcing is entirely innocuous. On the contrary, it’s often a way to replace well-paid employees who receive decent health and retirement benefits with low-wage, low-benefit employees at subcontracting firms. That is, it’s still about redistribution from middle-class Americans to a small minority at the top.

Arguably, that’s just business – but it’s not the kind of business that makes you especially want to see Romney as president.

Or put it a different way: Romney wasn’t so much a captain of industry as a captain of deindustrialization, making big profits for his firm (and himself) by helping to dismantle the implicit social contract that used to make America a middle-class society.

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Krugman: Romney helped dismantle "social contract that used to make America a middle-class society" (Original Post) HomerRamone Jul 2012 OP

big k and r nashville_brook Jul 2012 #1

Is Rmoney the only one? Haven't all those who supported the wage-lowering, AnotherMcIntosh Jul 2012 #2

Romney was only one of many thousands quaker bill Jul 2012 #4

When Nixon pulled the stopper out of the drain and began this in 1972, there wasn't a "free-trade" AnotherMcIntosh Jul 2012 #5

Free trade can be and is used in many ways quaker bill Jul 2012 #6

K&R. So true. Dedicated job crusher. Rolling with the Republican elite. Overseas Jul 2012 #3

Rmoney only wants to slant the playing field even more. (no text) Quantess Jul 2012 #7

nashville_brook

(20,958 posts)

1. big k and r

Reply to HomerRamone (Original post)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:58 AM

Jul 2012

AnotherMcIntosh

(11,064 posts)

2. Is Rmoney the only one? Haven't all those who supported the wage-lowering,

Reply to HomerRamone (Original post)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:02 AM

Jul 2012

let's-send-jobs-to-foreign-countries "free-trade" agreements helped to dismantle "social contract that used to make America a middle-class society"?

Here's the ones that have been signed so far:
1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
2001 - Jordan – United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Chile - United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Singapore – United States Free Trade Agreement
2006 - Bahrain – United States Free Trade Agreement
2006 - Morocco - United States Free Trade Agreement
2006 - Oman – United States Free Trade Agreement
2007 - Peru – United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2005 - Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA; incl. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic)
2011 - Panama - United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2011 - Colombia - United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2011 - Republic of Korea (South Korea) - United States Free Trade Agreement

What would Rmoney do if elected? Sign another job-transferring "free-trade" agreement?

Trans-Pacific negotiations have been taking place throughout the Obama presidency. The deal is strongly supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the top lobbying group for American corporations. Obama's Republican opponent in the 2012 presidential elections, Mitt Romney, has urged the U.S. to finalize the deal as soon as possible.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak_n_1592593.html

What better way is there to make more money for the super-rich while killing American jobs?

quaker bill

(8,224 posts)

4. Romney was only one of many thousands

Reply to AnotherMcIntosh (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 01:33 PM

Jul 2012

of "businessmen" who got into the whole greenmail, leveraged buy-out, outsourcing, off-shoring, pension fund raiding, union busting drive of the 80s and early 90s. Their lifespan was improved made more profitable by the successful lobbying effort they made for free trade agreements. This stuff all existed well before NAFTA and had already substantially gutted wages and the industrial sector in general before free trade.

Free trade has done additional damage, but the decline of the industrial sector was cast in stone at least a decade earlier. It was likely much earlier than that as I used to ride through rusting mill towns in the NE in the late 60's going to see my grandmother, one of many displaced mill workers. Heck, I was laid off in '80 as shop foreman on a production line when the corporation shuttered through a leveraged buy-out.

Free trade is a problem, but we can't hang it all there. I am sure that Mittens and his cohort did as much if not much more damage all on their own.

AnotherMcIntosh

(11,064 posts)

5. When Nixon pulled the stopper out of the drain and began this in 1972, there wasn't a "free-trade"

Reply to quaker bill (Reply #4)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 01:45 PM

Jul 2012

label to describe the intentional off-shoring/outsourcing of jobs by politicians to favor their wealthy contributors over average, working-class Americans.

Now that we do have a label, and we are facing another threat by a pending let's-send-more-jobs-to-foreign-countries "free-trade" agreement, it's time to use it.

Of course, Mittens has been in favor of such off-shoring/outsourcing of jobs, but it does no good for us to disregard other high-level politicians who favor the same off-shoring/outsourcing policies.

quaker bill

(8,224 posts)

6. Free trade can be and is used in many ways

Reply to AnotherMcIntosh (Reply #5)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 02:23 PM

Jul 2012

Some of them are productive such as opening markets for our agricultural production. I prefer to take special exception to those who intentionally use it to do large scale damage for profit, like Mittens and his friends.

Overseas

(12,121 posts)

3. K&R. So true. Dedicated job crusher. Rolling with the Republican elite.

Reply to HomerRamone (Original post)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:29 AM

Jul 2012

Putting those "overpaid workers" in their place, waiting for the blessed Trickle Down.

Quantess

(27,630 posts)

7. Rmoney only wants to slant the playing field even more. (no text)

Reply to HomerRamone (Original post)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:38 PM

Jul 2012

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