ahoy Anuung, avast ye!
the projections have US exports moving up a full percent. real income would go up 57 billion (more on this later). like i said, incremental improvement for US based business interests.
Then why was it so important? It was promoted as being essential. If the best case scenario is insignificant then its not. And then you have to consider what happens if the best case scenario doesn't pan out. The fact of the matter is that free trade already exists, and that this deal was only important to transcontinental corporations. The writing on the wall is the juice isn't worth the squeeze.
if you're objecting to the grand language used in promoting the TPP, i don't know what to say. anyone even mildly curious about the trade deal could just read about it. if an economic illiterate like me can make sense of it, anyone can.
i was expecting it to be a net postive. it is just that. i am happy.
its not that complicated.
Nobody argued that China was going to be turned into an economic wasteland... But it was promoted as keeping China in check.
Why think of it as a business alliance when we already have business alliances with these businesses? And if China can independently produce the same exact business alliances or even join this one, what is the intrinsic value of such an agreement
"business alliance" and "geopoitical interests" are not mutually exclusive terms, Anuung. the TPP serves both.
i'm unclear on where you're even going with this, to be honest. are you saying you would like the TPP to have been more explicit in its thrust to disable China economically?
Then why was is negotiated in secret? Why were politicians not allowed to discuss its contents while transnational corporations lawyers and lobbyists were allowed access? Why did the promotors of the bill lie about its importance?
Anuung my friend, everything is negotiated "in secret". even legislation that you like. its
all done that way - particularly multilateral trade deals, where each nation is of course trying to maximize their side of the pie. its natural and normal.
Pics of Chinese high fives?
i wasn't speaking literally. China, for obvious reasons, is glad the US pulled out of the TPP.
The new TPP doesn't prevent the US from joining. And there are still IP protections built into it. If the US gets marginalized then "we" have nobody to blame but ourselves and the TPP wouldn't have prevented it from happening.
that kind of sweeping assertion is not a point i'm willing to concede to you, just because you say its so.
Boo fucking hoo. Restaurants go bust, too. Should the TPP protect them? Should they be allowed to jack up the cost of food 5,000%?
when a restaurant discovers a statin drug that lowers cholesterol and lengthens the life of mankind, you make sure to get back to me on that one.
i like to eat out as much as anyone, but your comparison seems kind of silly to me.
Right. Because if we stopped art IP infringement, the US would send 30 million Americans to college... We already have that money and we gave it to Trump and the MIC.
i'm glad you raised that point, Anuung.
this is the core of our disagreement - and i think it holds true for most of the people who actually have policy problems with the TPP.
alot of folks are angry that the TPP will probably end up enriching a select few oligarchs in this country. you probably know in your heart of hearts that, yes, this will be beneficial to US corporate interests - you're just ticked off that every time any cream rises, the wealthy swoop in and scoop it all up.
the problem isn't free trade. the problem isn't globalism. the problem is the fruits from free trade and globalism are coalescing at the top - so the issue is tax policy.
the issue is income inequality - a real problem in this country. i mean, where does that 57 billion i referenced early go, exactly? who gets it?
the issue is wealth inequality - which has gotten insane in the United States. our wealth gap (net worth as opposed to income) is worse than Russia. its worse than Iran. that is seriously fucked up.
taking away globalism and the TPP isn't going to address these issues - it just pointlessly kneecaps US corporations a bit and that's not going to help workers at those US based interests at all.
the TPP isn't a problem.
its tax policy.
what do you care if a US corporation is able to strike favorable trade deals that enriches it - so long as that largesse doesn't all end up in some zillionaire's pocket?
what if that money was used to help fund a single payor program? what if that money is funneled towards PEW scholarships?
what if that money is used to help buttress our senior entitlement programs (since these programs are about to eviscerate the US budget)?
you're fighting the wrong fight.
- IGIT