Rise of Another Corporate Mouthpiece to Destroy The Middle Class

[marmar]

from the Working Life blog:


Rise of Another Corporate Mouthpiece to Destroy The Middle Class
Posted on 19 June 2013.

Yet another installment in the decades-long white flag of surrender to the corporate elite took place in a relatively unnoticed vote — what, with the more important, front-page, relentless coverage of the passing of what’s-his-name Gandolfini. The country has a new trade representative…well, that’s not really accurate — Citibank has a new trade representative.

By a vote of 93-4, the Senate confirmed Michael Froman as the US trade representative. All you need to know about Froman is this:

Mr. Froman worked as Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin’s chief of staff during the Clinton administration,

He was a managing partner at Citigroup and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations before joining the Obama administration.

So, first, the overwhelming vote shows that no one stops to think for a moment whether having an alum of Citibank — and the mentality he would bring — representing the country’s trade interests makes sense. Because they don’t care — not in the Administration, nor apparently in the Senate. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2013/06/19/rise-of-another-corporate-mouthpiece-to-destroy-the-middle-class/#sthash.7XQ8hWq2.dpuf

[arcane1]

1. His unanymous support from Senate republicans tells me all I need to know.

[rhett o rick]

5. There are two messages we can glean from this. One is exactly as you said,

If all the Republicans favor it, IT FUCKING HAS TO BE BAD.

The second thing is even more discouraging. Almost all of the Democrats (DINO's) voted with the REpublicans, apparently saying "fuck the 99%".

We are entering the final stages of American Democracy. Every day the 1% gets bolder and bolder.

[Enthusiast]

13. "We are entering the final stages of American Democracy."

Yes.

[GeorgeGist]

8. His near unanimous support from Senate Democrats should tell you the rest.

We are so screwn.

[mick063]

2. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

My first visit to Las Vegas was visual sensory overload. In the end, it dulls the senses.

This administration and Congress are giving me political sensory overload. Too much, too fast.

A testimony to our times when news like the OP brings, doesn't bring forth a higher level of outrage, but simply adds to the worn out feeling that we are collectively taking it in the ass by corporate America.

[Rex]

3. They don't care what you or I think.

This is all about serving the interests of Wall Street...we saw how they feel about us in the OWS movements. They mistakenly equate money with success, while completely (and willfully) overlooking the fact that many criminals are rich.

The govts fetish over CEOs will be the death of us all one day.

[Egalitarian Thug]

4. Yep. The Goldman-Sachs administration strikes another blow for the 1% that matter to him. n/t

[byeya]

14. TPP is kind of an Anti-US Constitution. We the Corporations of the World, in order to corrall ALL

the world's wealth, do hearby payoff(our little way of endorsing) the two-headed $$$ party to breach national boundaries for our benefit.

[Egalitarian Thug]

17. That's the plan. Make nations obsolete or irrelevant.

Take away the one force that can oppose or constrain them.

[AzDar]

6. K & R

[johnnyreb]

7. Senator Warren voted against

Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, was among the few senators to vote against him, citing what she called a lack of transparency in U.S. trade negotiations,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/michael-froman-trade-representative_n_3468736.html

With video of her floor speech in opposition.

[marmar]

9. Yep. I'm going to send thank you emails to the four:

"Sens. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), Joe Manchin (D., W.V.), Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Ma.) opposed him"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323393804578556012123046752.html

[malaise]

10. Do you remember the Citibank memes about plutonomy?

http://politicalgates.blogspot.com/2011/12/citigroup-plutonomy-memos-two-bombshell.html

[liberal_at_heart]

11. so not only are they not going to prosecute bankers, they let them write ACA, and now they are

giving them jobs.

[Quantess]

12. K & R

[KG]

15. piss on the middle-class. they've voted repuke for decades to better their bottom line

the current economy is their ROI.

[xchrom]

16. du rec.

[forestpath]

18. They are all (well, ALMOST all) in it together. No doubt in my mind that Congress will

vote overwhelmingly to hand over our government, and all the laws and regulations that protect us (such as they are) to go with it over to corporations, national and foreign, to use as their personal enrichment device. I'm sure they have already thought about it and how much richer it will make them and that's all they - and Obama - care about.

And Obama will sign the bill in secret. Anyone who protests it will be treated as a terrorist by the Obama administration.

[TheKentuckian]

19. I got the gist at Rubin. The color at Citi. The rest is just supporting evidence.