TPP and POVERTY
The much touted, at least by the Multi-National Corporations and some Governments, Transpacific Partnership agreement, has grave consequences for the so-called poor of the world, including the United States. This agreement, clouded in secrecy, has been characterized as something akin to NAFTA on steroids! But, what exactly does it mean for the poor and working class of the United States?
Recent statistics released by the Census Bureau of the Federal Government indicate that half of the United States is now at or below the poverty line. This is a very serious and startling statement. At no time in the history of the United States has such a statement been true. Add to that the fact the gap between the rich and poor is also the widest in US history! With that you have one of the most serious situations of poverty in the so-called “developed Nations”.
Along with these statistics, add to it the ever increasing situation of homelessness, as well. We have the highest rate of homelessness or people without homes since the Depression. Additionally, our rate of homelessness is the highest in the “developed” world and in some “developing” nations. In my own state, Florida, we have the 2nd highest rate of homelessness in the US. In the Tampa Bay area, where I live, we have 25,000 individuals and families that are homeless. This is the highest rate per capita in the country! This is along with Florida ranking among the highest in real unemployment and foreclosures, as well as low wages.
So what has all this got to do with the TPP? The so-called “Transpacific Partnership” is at trade agreement attempting to be brokered for all the nations with waters on the Pacific Ocean, as well as Asian and Pacific Nations. The intent is to remove all “Trade Barriers” between Nations and Corporations so that trade becomes easier. These “Trade Barriers” are considered barriers to the movement of goods, services, and “commodities “ between countries. Major multi-national corporations such as big Drug Companies, Walmart, Nike, Chevron, etc. support this because “these” trade barriers inhibit and sometimes prohibit some goods from going to and from countries.
These “trade barriers” include environmental safeguards, fair labor practices, inexpensive and generic drugs, safety regulations, indigenous sovereignty, national borders, regulations on GMO’s, and input from the public. If this were passed it would deeply impact the poor of the United States and the World.
Specifically, it’s implications to the poor and working class of the United States are grave and serious. This trade agreement, from information gathered thus far, would drive down wages even further, it would further eliminate safety regulations, it would ship more jobs overseas, including the service industry that employs many working class and poor in electronically driven and telephone oriented work, it would also make it difficult to get necessary medications at affordable prices. Particularly, it would diminish significantly the use of “generic” drugs, of which are the most affordable to those with low income.
It would make foreign investment in real estate domestically easier to do and drive up prices, thus making affordable housing more difficult to obtain. Thus, in the end, the resulting effect of all this would be a continued and potentially dramatic increase in poverty, unemployment, and homelessness due to decreasing wages, further joblessness, and increased health costs. This only be true domestically, but internationally as well. A Race to the bottom!
It is with these very serious issues in mind, that we must resist at all levels the passing of the TPP! We must be involved in campaigns of resistance! We must inform each other and the general public of the dangers of this agreement. We must be willing to resist with our voice and actions, including disruption and direct action.
As a member of the Green Shadow Cabinet, I, as is the rest of the cabinet, am committed to a campaign of resistance. To allow this to pass, only strengthens the greed and avarice of the Multi-National Corporate global Fascist Capitalists and the Wealthy elites. It opens the doors to the Atlantic Trade agreement of the same nature.
We must and can resist this evil! We can and will resist this horrific trade agreement!
Rev. Bruce Wright , MA, DMin. , CPAC
www.greenshadowcabinet.org
