The TPP

backseatLover12

...Washington speak for Corruption and Theft, not a trade agreement.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/trans-pacific-partnership-is-washington-speak-for-corruption-and-theft

Fast Track to Hell: Trade Bill Officially Introduced in Congress

'Congress shouldn’t throw Americans under the bus by giving up its authority over this unprecedented giveaway to multinational corporations.'

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/16/fast-track-hell-trade-bill-officially-introduced-congress

U.S. House and Senate leaders announced Thursday afternoon that they have reached a deal on legislation aimed at jamming the Trans Pacific Partnership through Congress.

brianlux

Another attempt to push out small and/or local businesses.

Here's another article worth checking out:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/trade-rule-illegal-favor-local-business-tpp-leak-wikileaks

gimmesometruth27

how will this help our country?

i imagine in the same way that nafta and cafta did. this tpp is a bad idea and i strongly oppose it.

backseatLover12

Everyone who is not a corporation should strongly oppose Fast Track and the TPP.

backseatLover12

"The Obama Admin says I'm wrong — we shouldn't worry about TPP. So why can’t the American people read the deal?" - Elizabeth Warren via Twitter

backseatLover12

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/239688-sanders-tries-to-block-trade-bill

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tried on Wednesday to block the Finance Committee from being able to consider a fast-track trade bill.

Sanders objected to a unanimous consent request from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to let the Finance Committee meet, forcing a delay in the consideration of the legislation.

The Vermont senator, who is mulling a 2016 White House bid, said there has not been "a lot of transparency" on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) legislation.

"Not only is there massive opposition to this TPP agreement, but there is a lot of concern that the American people have not been involved in the process, and there's not a lot of transparency," Sanders said.

The Finance Committee is expected to take up trade legislation Wednesday afternoon to give President Obama fast-track authority to push new trade deals through Congress with up-or-down votes.

McConnell said that because of Sanders's objection, the Finance Committee will still meet, but the Senate will have to recess.

"All this objection is going to do will be to require us to recess after the votes on trafficking and stay in session, because we're going to finish the bill in the Finance Committee today," McConnell said. "I'm just making the point that this particular way to oppose it will not be successful today."

The Kentucky Republican added the "committee will simply be inconvenienced by the current actions of the senator from Vermont."

A handful of Senate Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who liberals call to run in 2016, are opposing the legislation, because they worry that it could harm American workers. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), asked if he would support the legislation, said that "the answer is not only no, but hell no."

backseatLover12

http://billmoyers.com/2015/04/22/look-fast-track-bill-shows-wrong-thing/

...

A Quick Way to Decide If You Are For Fast Track

If you don’t want to get mired in the wording and details of the fast track bill, here is a shortcut to deciding if you are for it or against it:

…
● Wall Street and the giant multinational corporations are for it big time.
● Every single US labor union is against it.
● The Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and other corporate organizations are for it.
● Pretty much every identifiable progressive-aligned organization is against it, including human rights groups, environmental groups, faith groups, legal scholars, consumer groups, food-safety groups, LGBT groups and many, many others.
● Big corporate groups argue that fast track brings us trade deals that are good for American jobs. We’ve heard this before and have learned that these giant, multinational companies care about their profits at the expense of American jobs because they can pocket the wage difference. Many of these giant multinational companies no longer even pay taxes back to our country.
● Polls show that the public is overwhelmingly against it. (Even conservatives are opposed.)
● House Speaker John Boehner, and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Orrin Hatch are for it.
● Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown; and Reps. Keith Ellison, Donna Edwards, Alan Grayson, Rosa DeLauro and the Congressional Progressive Caucus; former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and many, many other noted progressives are against it.

brianlux

backseatLover12 said:

http://billmoyers.com/2015/04/22/look-fast-track-bill-shows-wrong-thing/

...

A Quick Way to Decide If You Are For Fast Track

If you don’t want to get mired in the wording and details of the fast track bill, here is a shortcut to deciding if you are for it or against it:

…
● Wall Street and the giant multinational corporations are for it big time.
● Every single US labor union is against it.
● The Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and other corporate organizations are for it.
● Pretty much every identifiable progressive-aligned organization is against it, including human rights groups, environmental groups, faith groups, legal scholars, consumer groups, food-safety groups, LGBT groups and many, many others.
● Big corporate groups argue that fast track brings us trade deals that are good for American jobs. We’ve heard this before and have learned that these giant, multinational companies care about their profits at the expense of American jobs because they can pocket the wage difference. Many of these giant multinational companies no longer even pay taxes back to our country.
● Polls show that the public is overwhelmingly against it. (Even conservatives are opposed.)
● House Speaker John Boehner, and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Orrin Hatch are for it.
● Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown; and Reps. Keith Ellison, Donna Edwards, Alan Grayson, Rosa DeLauro and the Congressional Progressive Caucus; former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and many, many other noted progressives are against it.

Ha! That's handy and quite telling for sure. Let's hope folks dig a little deeper though and understand why this is a bad idea and who (if you can call a corporation a "who", haha!) stands to gain from it.

Here's an expanded version of what bsL posted above:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/a-look-at-the-fast-track_b_7100354.html

backseatLover12

Look at this Brian…

Will a Secretive International Trade Deal Ban GMO Labeling?
The Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to be a setback for efforts to regulate and label GMO foods.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/will-secretive-international-trade-deal-ban-gmo-labeling-trans-pacific-partnership

Jason P

You down with TPP?

brianlux

backseatLover12 said:

Look at this Brian…

Will a Secretive International Trade Deal Ban GMO Labeling?
The Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to be a setback for efforts to regulate and label GMO foods.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/will-secretive-international-trade-deal-ban-gmo-labeling-trans-pacific-partnership

More insanity. That fact that a lobbyist for Monsanto is the chief U.S. negotiator on agriculture? WTF?!

Insanity.

rgambs

brianlux said:

backseatLover12 said:

Look at this Brian…

Will a Secretive International Trade Deal Ban GMO Labeling?
The Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to be a setback for efforts to regulate and label GMO foods.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/will-secretive-international-trade-deal-ban-gmo-labeling-trans-pacific-partnership

More insanity. That fact that a lobbyist for Monsanto is the chief U.S. negotiator on agriculture? WTF?!

Insanity.

That's just politics!
It's hilarious to hear the right bashing Hillary for "selling influence" when they have campaigned for and championed that right for decades now.

backseatLover12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O_Sbbeqfdw

Godfather.

our union has been fighting aginst TPP we backed a local politican (with a fat check and voter support) who promiced to help in the fight aginst TPP but as soon as he made the jump to the next level he dropped us and supported TPP.......same old story, they always come to the unions with thier hands out wanting money and union votes then when they get what want they tell the unions to piss off, my business agent and I have gone over this many times but the politicans that get support from unions usally get that from the grand lodge and we are told who to support (the big lie) and why, and just for the record I NEVER let the unions influnance my vote, it's kinda funny unions at the top levels are just as corrupt as the politicans they support and even the ones they fight aginst, real union people work for a living while thier appointed reps find ways to skim the top.

Godfather.

rgambs

Godfather. said:

our union has been fighting aginst TPP we backed a local politican (with a fat check and voter support) who promiced to help in the fight aginst TPP but as soon as he made the jump to the next level he dropped us and supported TPP.......same old story, they always come to the unions with thier hands out wanting money and union votes then when they get what want they tell the unions to piss off, my business agent and I have gone over this many times but the politicans that get support from unions usally get that from the grand lodge and we are told who to support (the big lie) and why, and just for the record I NEVER let the unions influnance my vote, it's kinda funny unions at the top levels are just as corrupt as the politicans they support and even the ones they fight aginst, real union people work for a living while thier appointed reps find ways to skim the top.

Godfather.

Yeah, I have been in the Steel Union and I'm a Teamster now... Unions are corrupt, but at least they are beholden to average people, unlike the mega corp interests who are corrupt and represent only the richest. This TPP is such a bad deal it is ridiculous! When you see free market hawks keep quiet about a trade deal like this, you know that is a very bad sign... They should be slobbin the TPP's knob, but it's such a terrible deal they are silent.

Godfather.

rgambs said:

Godfather. said:

our union has been fighting aginst TPP we backed a local politican (with a fat check and voter support) who promiced to help in the fight aginst TPP but as soon as he made the jump to the next level he dropped us and supported TPP.......same old story, they always come to the unions with thier hands out wanting money and union votes then when they get what want they tell the unions to piss off, my business agent and I have gone over this many times but the politicans that get support from unions usally get that from the grand lodge and we are told who to support (the big lie) and why, and just for the record I NEVER let the unions influnance my vote, it's kinda funny unions at the top levels are just as corrupt as the politicans they support and even the ones they fight aginst, real union people work for a living while thier appointed reps find ways to skim the top.

Godfather.

Yeah, I have been in the Steel Union and I'm a Teamster now... Unions are corrupt, but at least they are beholden to average people, unlike the mega corp interests who are corrupt and represent only the richest. This TPP is such a bad deal it is ridiculous! When you see free market hawks keep quiet about a trade deal like this, you know that is a very bad sign... They should be slobbin the TPP's knob, but it's such a terrible deal they are silent.

another thing I have found interesting is that how close the companys and the union brass work together, I have seen back door deals AKA a "letter of understanding"(LOU) which gives the company autherisation to do things outside the union contract for a short period of time and these LOU's are not voted on by the union members,they are signrd by the B.A or bisness agent and can last as long as 6 months to a year, I always recomend to union members to be as involved as possible with your union just so you know whats going on because just "paying dues" does not protect your union rights, if you let somebody make a choice for you without your input then you only get what they want you to have, members have more power than they realize if they stand in numbers and it's important to remember that the company is not the only one that can take something away from you, when ever I read a contract or a LOU I always read it from the mind of a crininal to see what I can get away with,then you'll know what they want to get away with......just like a politican.

Godfather.

gimmesometruth27

funny how this thing can get fast tracked, while things that matter to your average american don't even get a vote.

the average middle class american worker doesn't have a chance with these trade agreements.

Godfather.

gimmesometruth27 said:

funny how this thing can get fast tracked, while things that matter to your average american don't even get a vote.

the average middle class american worker doesn't have a chance with these trade agreements.

sad but true, they(american workers) are used by the politicans who lie to us for political and financial gain.

Godfather.

BS44325

Oh it's on. Obstructionist racist dems go all Tom Cotton and filibuster The president's trade deal.

President then rips on dems

http://observer.com/2015/05/obama-hurls-insults-at-liberals-on-trade/

Dems then call Obama sexist

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/241820-democratic-senator-sees-sexism-in-obama-remarks-on-warren

This should be good

brianlux

TPP's goin' down.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/12/victory-grassroots-fast-track-goes-down-crucial-senate-vote

Victory for Grassroots as Fast Track Goes Down in Crucial Senate Vote

'We know the forces pushing the job-killing TPP won't stop here, and they should know, neither will we,' says Democracy for America

In what was immediately heralded as a victory for the grassroots, Senate Democrats on Tuesday stymied President Barack Obama's corporate-driven trade agenda by voting to prevent the chamber from taking up Fast Track legislation.

According to news reports, a cloture motion to cut off a filibuster and proceed to debate fell short of the 60 votes necessary to pass. Sen. Tom Carper, of Delaware, was the only Democrat to vote yes.

Civil society groups lauded Tuesday's outcome and what it could mean for future trade votes.

"The Fast Track train went off the rails today," cheered Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division. "The U.S. Senate vote was supposed to generate momentum for Fast Track in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it's in deep trouble, with almost every House Democrats and a significant bloc of GOP opposing it."

Godfather.

E-mail from the president........

I want to set the record straight.

Right now, we have an opportunity to set the most progressive trade agreement in our nation's history -- with enforceable labor and environmental protections we simply can't count on other nations to pursue.

Here's why this means so much to me: I want to make sure that any deal we reach reflects our nation's values, in a way that hasn't always been true in the past. That's why I've said I'll refuse to sign any agreement that doesn't put American workers first.

But as long as 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we don't have the option to sit back and let others set the rules. We need to take this opportunity to level the playing field -- because when we're competing on equal ground, American workers win.

I've staked my presidency on middle-class economics, and fought hard for policies that ensure that anyone who's willing to work hard and play by the rules can get a fair shot.

We've made a lot of progress over the past six years -- rebounding from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, strengthening our manufacturing sector, and growing forward-looking industries like renewable energy.

We can't go back -- and we can't leave it to nations like China to write the rules for the global economy.

This is personal for me. I understand the skepticism about this, or any, trade deal. I've met folks across the country who still feel burned by agreements of the past. Those are the people I came to Washington to fight for.

That's what this is about for me. This is our chance to do better, to get it right.

I hope you'll agree. Over the last few months, OFA supporters across the country have stood up to ask the hard questions on this issue -- to make sure the outcome is good not just for our economy, but for working families.

If you want to see America lead the way to establish a truly progressive trade agreement, add your name with OFA today:

http://my.barackobama.com/Lead-On-Trade

Thank you,

Barack Obama


sooooooooo whada ya think ?........I think he can stick it in his ass (fast track-tpp)

Godfather.