While researching my farm subsidies blog, I ran across several articles about the WTO (World Trade Organization). After awhile, I found myself digging deeper and deeper into this organization, and pretty soon I was chomping down blood pressure pills like they were Skittles.
Many people have heard of the WTO (aren't they the group those hippies out in Seattle were protesting a few years back?), but I doubt if the general public knows how the WTO is set up and who they represent. WELL, I'll tell you.
The WTO facilitates trade agreements between nations in order to keep armed conflict to a minimum and to produce commerce between nations who would otherwise never do business with each other. That seems nice.
Over seventy-five percent of the WTO's members are developing or least-developed nations. That means that 112 of the organizations 149 members are what we call "third-world countries". Now I'm beginning to understand!
You see, in order to be a full-fledged member of the WTO, you have to allow them to review your trade agreements and treaties, and (here's where the blood pressure starts to go up) and laws regarding trade, especially laws regarding outsourcing! The over-all satisfaction of members is very high, and most nations can report economic growth since joining. No Kidding! They're third-world countries!
Basically , we are subjugating our nation's interests to the poorest, most undeveloped economies in the world in order to belong to a "Global Economic Circle". Somebody shoot the guy who came up with this crap!
We are the superior power on the panet. We dictate who gets to be our partners in trade. I have nothing against Pakistan or India, or even Kazhakistan, but they do not get to benefit if American citizens lose jobs. The idea seems to be that we are trying to level out the global standard of living. I'm OK with these under-developed nations getting a leg up, but I'm not willing to bring down the standard of living at home in order to improve the lives of people who are not my children.
I do have sympathy for people who don't have indoor plumbing, just not enough sympathy to give up my job.
Capitalism is a lot like democracy or freedom. If it gets handed to people, they don't know what to do with it. We may be improving the lifestyles of Indians and Pakistanis by giving them some of our jobs, but they didn't earn these positions. These jobs were not created by their fathers who worked long hours and dedicated much of their lives to developing new technologies. Just like Iraqis haven't freely risked their lives for freedom (maybe for food, but not for freedom). We all saw what happened to the Soviet Union after they were handed freedom and democracy. The whole damned country nearly starved to death.
We as Americans have to stop feeling like we owe everyone in the world a better life simply because we are a wealthy nation. If these people need help developing their own economy, we should help. But we don't have to give them our jobs in order to help. We already give away $27 Billion a year to these same countries. Why should we give them our jobs as well? We cannot bring down our nation in order to build up others. Or maybe that's the purpose of a group like the WTO.
Picture of the Week
Really, America?...
2 comments:
I think that you are over simplifying the role of the WTO in the world in order to support your own small minded agenda. You may not be a racist, or so you say, but you certainly don't care about your fellow human being if they are poor or uneducated. We do owe these people something because we are a wealthy nation. If you cannot understand the global economy, you really should stay off the topic.
I think that you are over-complicating the issue. First of all, as an American, I owe allegiance only to America. My fore-fathers bled and died for this nation, and I have repeatedly proven my willingness to do the same. The fact that the people we speak of are not willing to rise up and take control of their situation is not my problem.
As for my understanding of the global economy, the only thing I can understand about it is that it has something to do with Americans losing jobs and pompous jerks speaking in superior tones. Why is it that middle-class Americans are so often told to stay away from topics that they don't understand? Are you trying to impress me with your education in order to cover the fact that you don't have any idea what you're talking about? Feel free to explain the global economy to me Mr. Wizard. I'll pay as much attention to you as is humanly possible.
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