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Lost: 600,000 Jobs


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Lost: 600,000 Jobs

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:20 PM PT

 

Economy: As if Big Labor hasn't been repaid enough for its help in electing Democrats, a new report shows that protectionism — the unions' signature issue — costs 585,000 of the rest of us our jobs.

It's not enough that unions got the cream of the $80 billion in auto industry bailouts or the center cut of the $787 billion stimulus package or a smorgasbord of regulations — from union transparency laws to court-ordered supervision — rescinded by grateful Democrats in Congress and the White House.

 

But the biggest payoff has been in the form of protectionist measures being applied across the U.S. economy. They include "Buy American" provisos, a Mexican truck shutout, tariffs on Chinese tires and, worst of all, the halting of free trade treaties with Colombia, Korea and Panama. Up next: tariffs on steel pipe.

 

The aim is to preserve a few thousand jobs at most, but it's coming at a high price. On Monday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a comprehensive report called "Trade Action: The Cost for American Workers and Companies." It describes how the Obama administration's trade decisions, all of which were sought by Big Labor, have so far cost 585,000 American jobs.

 

It started in February 2008, with the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It required all iron, steel and manufactured goods purchased for public works projects to be American-made, and all textiles, clothing and equipment purchased by the Department of Homeland Security to be U.S.-made.

 

"We estimate that any net increase in U.S. employment resulting from the new 'Buy American' provisions will quickly evaporate as other countries implement 'buy national' policies of their own," the Chamber said. Even a 1% loss of sales would create big job losses, the Chamber said, and that doesn't include retaliation. Job toll: 176,800.

 

Then there was the Teamsters' favorite — the abrogation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a provision of which requires the U.S. to permit Mexican trucks on U.S. roads as it always had until 1982.

 

In March, Congress passed the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act to end funding for a pilot program that would have fulfilled the treaty's requirements. The Chamber says Mexico retaliated with $2.3 billion in penalty duties on 89 U.S. products, creating an immediate cost of $421 million.

 

Consumers also pay $739 million "drayage" costs of transferring Mexican truck goods to American trucks, plus additional shipping. Net cost: 25,600 jobs.

 

The big disaster, however, is Congress' failure to pass already-negotiated free trade treaties with Korea and Colombia, which have been awaiting a vote since 2006 and 2007, respectively. Big Labor opposes all free trade, and on Colombia, the AFL-CIO calls its opposition "unalterable." But that sop to them costs the rest of us jobs.

 

"While the United States stalls, other major exporters, (notably the EU and Canada) are moving ahead with (free trade agreements) of their own with these countries," the Chamber points out.

 

"If the EU and Canada do implement their FTAs with Korea and Colombia and the United States does not, exporters will enjoy a competitive advantage over U.S. exporters" in those markets, the Chamber warns.

 

Add to that the China tire tariffs imposed last week, which Rutgers trade expert Thomas Prusa reckons would cost 15,000 jobs, and the grand total is 600,000 positions — a disaster for an economy in recession and a killer of consumer confidence and voter approval.

 

For Democrats, this ought to be a wake-up call. For every job they save to repay unions, many more are lost in other sectors of the economy. What's more, jobs that would be created as a result of freer markets never materialize. Either way, the price is intolerably high.

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as far as our trade practices goes ,we are holding a double edged knife. no matter which end u hold u are going to bleed.

 

if we do not have protectionist measures, the goods will be built at a less expensive place and sold to us cheaper which means ppl will not buy the American brand causing US some job loss. if we do then the prices will be higher but the other countries will also slap tariffs on our products and import less causing job losses again.

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We've seen lots of tech jobs leave the country and customer service take a nose dive because of language barriers or just plain lack of common courtesy (on BOTH sides of the call).

******************************

And we've seen the loss of jobs to others who come TO this country, bigtime.

 

They, like in India, culturally work long hours every day, work Sat's, etc.

 

No culture here, no family here, they don't need benefits, ...work cheaper than

 

most of us consultants would or can.

 

I knew some of them who all lived in a big house rented by the company from India.

 

they practically live at work, then they go home with their "riches", ...

 

crap. What a disaster.

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Dan,

 

the Dems were in control of Congress for that couple of years of the Bush admin.

 

Now they are in control of everything.

 

Nobody said anything about it starting under Obama.

 

 

But, contrary to what others think, Obama's profound spending spree isn't helping the situation,

 

and may compound it far worse than any of us imagine.

 

It is an issue that warrants great concern.

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It's not enough that unions got the cream of the $80 billion in auto industry bailouts or the center cut of the $787 billion stimulus package or a smorgasbord of regulations — from union transparency laws to court-ordered supervision — rescinded by grateful Democrats in Congress and the White House.

 

I think that is ALL they will get, and have to deal with their members {Union} when more jobs are lost. I'm sorry, but the Obama adm. track record is pretty brutal with its knee jerk reaction to fixing problems, in this case an appeasement for one of their many campaign supporters. These "grateful dems" will {hopefully} be exposed and removed in 2010.

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It's not enough that unions got the cream of the $80 billion in auto industry bailouts or the center cut of the $787 billion stimulus package or a smorgasbord of regulations — from union transparency laws to court-ordered supervision — rescinded by grateful Democrats in Congress and the White House.

 

I think that is ALL they will get, and have to deal with their members {Union} when more jobs are lost. I'm sorry, but the Obama adm. track record is pretty brutal with its knee jerk reaction to fixing problems, in this case an appeasement for one of their many campaign supporters. These "grateful dems" will {hopefully} be exposed and removed in 2010.

 

 

Well, it may be all the auto industry gets, but there are others just waiting to take their place:

 

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2009...-this-fall.html

 

Cash for clunkers moves to appliances. Money back for your old Kelvinator?

 

Will this fall's federal rebate do for home appliances and heating and cooling systems what the Car Allowance Rebate System—aka cash for clunkers—has done for cars and trucks? The appliance industry certainly hopes so: Sales of dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines—the three appliances covered by the appliance-rebate program—have been off by some 25 percent from their peak during the last housing boom.

 

As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Obama administration is encouraging the purchase of energy-efficient appliances through the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, which will dole out amounts that could reach $200 per appliance if you buy Energy Star-qualified models.

 

Appliances that qualify for Energy Star use roughly 10 to 25 percent less energy than the maximum allowed for that category by the U.S. Department of Energy, which runs Energy Star with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Watch the video here on our latest tests of water- and energy-efficient dishwashers at right.)

 

Unlike cash for clunkers, you won't have to turn in your old appliance to get a rebate. But states are expected to have recycling plans for the flood of old appliances the program could unleash. And while the money is coming from Washington, how much you get for which appliance will be a state-by-state decision.

 

State energy offices must detail the amount of the rebates for each appliance category and their plan for recycling old appliances by October 15. The money will be divided via a formula in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that is largely based on state population. For example, California, with a population of nearly 37 million, will receive just over $35 million, while Alaska's 686,000 inhabitants will get $658,477.

 

Combining the soon-to-be enhanced state incentives with those from federal government and local utilities can yield significant savings. We've detailed how you can combine these specific incentives on appliances, solar-, wind-, and geothermal-energy technologies, and air-conditioning systems.

 

You can save even more with these recently published appliance-buying tips from more than 25,000 Consumer Reports subscribers. We've also got ratings (available to subscribers) of 16 major appliance retailers and a wide range of appliances.—Bob Markovich | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

 

Essential information: Our ratings of air conditioners, dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines (available to subscribers) detail the best blends of efficiency and performance in our tough tests, which are typically more stringent than the federal government's. Our ongoing tests have also shown that some Energy Star models use more energy than their EnergyGuide labels suggest. Watch this story from CNN, which features Consumer Reports Home Editor Bob Markovich talking about the appliance-rebate program.

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