If our elected leaders were really serious about job creation and the environment

[AllentownJake]

They would end Free Trade and enact Fair Trade. They would tax the fuck out of any country's imports that had lower standards than we did on labor and environmental issues and they would allow jobs to flow back to this nation.

Neither political party is serious. The GOP is for the status quo, and the democrats are for a Wall Street planned scam called Cap and Trade.

Easy solution. Tougher regulations, high tariffs on countries that don't abide by our standards. You'd be amazed at how quick carbon emissions were reduced and we were at full employment.

[polichick]

1. K&R

[FreakinDJ]

2. K&R

[HughMoran]

3. I've been arguing for these changes for quite some time

"Fair" trade which includes "you either meet our labor standards (environmental, social security net etc.) or we'll bill you via tariffs until you do." What the fuck problem do our knuckleheaded "leaders" have with pushing for "fair" trade? I guarantee that China and all the others would rather play ball than lose a huge market. Look at what US companies are willing to put up with to do business in Asia and Europe!

[AllentownJake]

4. US companies are profiting from cheap labor and pollution of the 3rd world. nt.

[HughMoran]

9. Yes, I've been in manufacturing since I graduated 25 years ago. It's maddening

It makes me so mad - as I've said previously, a part of me can relate to those who want to see the US hit bottom so the complete lack of ethics that our corporations have can be exposed and "the people" can exact their revenge. I have to bite my tongue as sometimes I have unholy thoughts about these sleazemonkeys that run these companies. When a VP suggested at one point that we "should all learn Cantonese" it was all I could do to not spit in their face.

[AllentownJake]

10. I did figuratively spit in their face

hence unemployment.

[HughMoran]

11. Good for you

I know my hardcore support of Dems & Obama didn't win me any support from top management either. Wish me luck at my new company - the owner is a good person and I may buy into the business at some point.

[AllentownJake]

12. Mine was over auditing standards

In particular the due diligence of supervisors. When you make more than I do, and have less experience, you better know what you are talking about before you tell me to remove a finding. It's ok, they got a head ache for it and I got my unemployment.

[HughMoran]

14. Another family member filed a lawsuit against a company

I can't say much about it because it's still ongoing. Let's me just use the words "FDA", "scapegoat" & "incompetent". I haven't yet spoken to the President of the company, waiting for the lawsuit to be over before we have a "private" conversation.

[Deja Q]

5. +1,000,000,000,067,004^897

[Union Yes]

6. Repeal "Free Trade"! knr nt

[Cirque du So-What]

7. The power brokers haven't signed off yet on creating 'green jobs'

or the abolishment of so-called 'free trade.' I see you have Gen. Smedley Butler as your avatar. He warned about today's state of affairs many years ago. The capitalistas give their marching orders to the politicians of both parties.

[AllentownJake]

15. Well they can't hide in Dubai nt.

[laughingliberal]

8. Rec for every point you made

Wonder how many are aware of the nice bubble the Goldman guys are counting on from cap and trade?

[Brickbat]

13. KNFR.

That would be KICK AND FUCKING RECOMMEND.

[New Dawn]

16. K&R

[AllentownJake]

17. Morning kick

[pampango]

18. If we are the biggest polluter on the planet per capita, who has lower standards than us?

If you put enough lower-polluting people (Chinese) into a big enough group (the country of China), I suppose you can make them more of a problem than the higher-polluting people (Americans) who are in a much smaller group (the US).

Both China and the US (and everyone else for that matter) need to cut carbon emissions. China because if its people ever pollute as much per capita as Americans do, the planet is finished. They may think that is not fair, but tough. The US because each of us pollute more than anyone else on the planet. And we are richer than most of the world (along with Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, etc.) and the rich should bear more of a burden than the poor, internationally as well as domestically.

[AllentownJake]

19. True

However the US has at least some clean air standards. China not so much

[pampango]

20. Sure we have some standards, but if each of us pollutes at a rate more than3 times that of a Chinese

citizen, it's hard to say that China is the biggest problem.

It will be a huge problem in the future and needs to be dealt with, but the "rich" countries that pollute more (and have for decades - perhaps centuries since the Industrial Revolution) should take the lead. It's a little disingenuous for us to say, "Sorry about our decades of polluting everything, but we can't allow your per capita pollution to get to our level."

None of us would want to hear some rich guy tell us regular folks that we have to tighten our belts because he has been living beyond his means for decades and has really messed things up for everyone. He is sorry but he has to tighten his belt now and we are going to have to do the same. (Rich guy feels compelled to point out that we regular folks were living beyond our means for the last few years, too.)

We may end up agreeing that we have to tighten our own belts for the good of our country and ourselves since we are all in this together. Or we might not do that and pursue a strategy of going after the rich guy and tell him that we are not changing a damn thing about our life style because he, the rich guy, caused the problem.

China, too, should come to the realization that they will have to tighten their belts (because we're all in the world together) even though they are not as rich as the West. Right now it looks like they prefer to spend their time arguing that the problem was not caused by them, so they are not changing anything about their "life style" and the solution to global pollution should be paid by the "rich guy" who caused the problem.

[chimpymustgo]

21. K & R. WTF is Cap and Trade anyway???