Tuesday, February 08, 2011
How it works
The Three Horsemen of the modern apocalypse: Climate Change, Human Rights and Free Trade. I've been hitting the first two lately but haven't hit the third.
"Free trade always benefits everyone" is another of those vicious Agreed-On Lies. Governments employ charlatans called "Economists" to generate fake numbers that supposedly "prove" this lie, but normal people still recognize it as a vicious lie.
Today's news includes a hitherto unpublicized example of how "free trade" destroyed an entire sector of American agriculture and transferred it to hostile countries:
As always. Delete American business, turn painfully acquired skills and facilities into worthless crap, then give the damaged Americans a few dollars of welfare and expect them to be grateful.
"Free trade always benefits everyone" is another of those vicious Agreed-On Lies. Governments employ charlatans called "Economists" to generate fake numbers that supposedly "prove" this lie, but normal people still recognize it as a vicious lie.
Today's news includes a hitherto unpublicized example of how "free trade" destroyed an entire sector of American agriculture and transferred it to hostile countries:
In the early 2000s the U.S. government encouraged Peruvian farmers to grow asparagus instead of drugs. [The policy was implemented through the Andean Trade Preferences Act.] Northwest asparagus growers say that policy devastated them.
Since then, all the processing plants in Washington State have moved to South America where labor and environmental costs are lower.
Now those who can prove they were hurt by that policy will share $15 million from an earmark to the U.S. agriculture bill.
Terri Hayles farms north of Pasco, Washington. She says the payment will be nice but: "The reality is, the money that the growers lost, this doesn't even pay the interest on what we lost. They're willing to compensate us something, which is better than nothing."
In 1990, Washington farmers produced 110 million pounds of asparagus. Last year they harvested just 17 million pounds.
As always. Delete American business, turn painfully acquired skills and facilities into worthless crap, then give the damaged Americans a few dollars of welfare and expect them to be grateful.
Labels: skill-estate
¶ 7:42 AM
