A Corporate Coup in Disguise (TPP)

[polly7]

Last edited Mon Dec 2, 2013, 07:01 PM - Edit history (1)

By Jim Hightower

Source: Alternet

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

What if our national leaders told us that communities across America had to eliminate such local programs as Buy Local, Buy American, Buy Green, etc. to allow foreign corporations to have the right to make the sale on any products purchased with our tax dollars? This nullification of our people's right to direct expenditures is just one of the horror stories in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

This is a super-sized NAFTA, the 1994 trade scam rammed through Congress by the entire corporate establishment. NAFTA promised the "glories of globalization": prosperity across our land. Unfortunately, corporations got the gold. We got the shaft -- thousands of factories closed, millions of middle-class jobs went south, and the economies of hundreds of towns and cities were shattered.

Twenty years later, the gang that gave us NAFTA is back with the TPP, a "trade deal" that mostly does not deal with trade. Of the 29 chapters in this document, only five cover traditional trade matters! The other chapters amount to a devilish "partnership" for corporate protectionism:

—Public services. TPP rules would limit how governments regulate such public services as utilities, transportation and education -- including restricting policies meant to ensure broad or universal access to those essential needs. One insidious rule says that member countries must open their service sectors to private competitors, which would allow the corporate provider to cherry-pick the profitable customers and sink the public service.

Full Article: http://www.zcommunications.org/a-corporate-coup-in-disguise-by-jim-hightower.html

I'm assuming this will apply to us, also. Thieving, greedy *'s!

[djean111]

1. We have a huge hand in writing it.

And by "we" I mean this administration, Hillary, and a whole bunch of corporate folks.
The rest of us, and Congress, are Not Allowed to see the details.
I believe part of Obama's (partially?) cancelled trip is/was to discuss the TPP. Just not with us.
Oh - your question - of course this will apply to us.

[polly7]

2. Oh, I mean also to Canadians.

It's going to suck! for everyone involved. They just never have enough, do they?

[djean111]

3. No they don't.

And yes, Canada is on the list.
Really, this thing is shaping up to make the GOP look like small-time amateur crooks.

[MisterP]

4. ehh, they'll just wrangle the GOP into opposing it: then the Dems who'd oppose the corpo giveaway

shut up and that just leaves the Paulbots and Ryanheads calling it socialism in the opposition (the MSM will also make sure that actual lefties are left out)
then when it goes to the SCOTUS and a debt-ceiling fight DU's all "this is part of the GOP-only plan to MAKE PEOPLE DIE AND PUT US IN DEATH CAMPS IT'S A HUGE SUCCESS BECAUSE ITS WEBSITE CRASHED"
the Dem leaders know how to "drain the swamp"

[proverbialwisdom]

5. Subscribe to his newsletter here.

http://www.hightowerlowdown.org

[blkmusclmachine]

6. .

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