"Free Trade" Bribe: The Retraining Scam

[marmar]

from the Working Life blog:




"Free Trade" Bribe: The Retraining Scam

by Jonathan Tasini
Monday 14 of February, 2011


Every so-called "free trade" deal that has shimmied its way through Congress has been greased with legalized bribery, starting with NAFTA in 1993, which was the king of all "what will buy your vote" deals. But, the biggest scam, in my opinion, is the "retraining" workers are offered in return for...sacrificing their middle-class livelihood and security for the benefit of corporate profits.

Obviously, I am not rooting for the lunatic fringe--read: Republican Party--to succeed but this may at least mess up the head-long rush to ram through a trio of new so-called "free trade" deals with South Korea, Colombia and Peru:

The expiration of a program that supports those left jobless by trade pacts threatens to fracture the coalition of lawmakers backing trade accords with South Korea, Colombia and Panama...

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program ended Saturday, potentially stopping the flow of money for services for 155,000 to 170,000 people in coming days unless Congressional Republicans can break an impasse over cost. Republicans in the House last week blocked a bill extending the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, along with the Andean Trade Preferences Act—which reduces tariffs on imports from Colombia and other Latin American nations in an effort to help stem the illegal narcotics trade.

Back in 2007, I wrote about the Great Retraining Lie: When we accept the idea of retraining workers, we accept the framework of discussion about the economic system that is being imposed on workers here and abroad. Boiled down to its basics, it goes something like this: "globalization" is inevitable so just get over it. There will be pain for some because that is the cost of progress. To ease that pain, we will throw some money at the "problem" of displaced workers. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=15104

[FreakinDJ]

1. "Do you want Fries with that"

[katnapped]

"Welcome to Walmart" n/t

[Hannah Bell]

2. kr

[HughBeaumont]

3. Retraining: the 21st Century Carrot and Stick.

Today's MBA is soon becoming as valuable as yesterday's HS diploma. In this recent round of layoffs, the Bachelors and MBA holders were sent packing from corporations with the rest of the "unpositioned". Nowadays, so many people are getting their MBAs not simply for the purpose of bettering themselves, but merely as a requirement for remaining employable. There's going to come a time where a bachelors degree, which takes enough time and sacrifice to complete, simply isn't going to be enough. Frankly, it really isn't enough now. When does THAT stop?

What do you say to older workers in general, who still have to deal with the wet-carpet mountain known as "ageism"? To pretend it doesn't exist is patently naive at best and perilous at worst. There used to be a time that older workers and their leadership and skill set were valued. Now corporations want the candidates to be 25-34 years old, have 20 years experience and a master's degree, and be able to work for the same average $40,000 a year that they've been paying us for three decades running.

American workers didn't used to have to worry about this sort of thing before. It used to be that we were able to gainfully employ people who aren't meant for college; these people were our industrial and manufacturing base and they built the quality products we used and bought.

A strong economy should be capable of employing EVERYone at a fair wage regardless of education level, and when you cannot do that, all the talking points in the world aint'a gonna mask the reality that you do NOT have any such economy on your watch.

So now we're again bringing up the "retraining" canard, which still remains the futile equivalent of plugging up a bursting dam with corks.

Say you get laid off of a career and have to go and re-train for a new one. Honestly, what are you going to pick that can't be offshored/inshored?

Do you got a few years to put your life on hold while you GET this training, as in enough cash to pay the bills, put food on the table and a roof overhead?

Here's another thing they aren't seeing - how can you predict that the career you choose to retrain in won't be following it's predecessor overseas?

Not to mention that "retraining" only works if your competition cannot do the exact same thing. What do they think, that Indians and Chinese DON'T have access to the same universities and opportunities we have? They can get the same degrees we can get. They have THOUSANDS that already HAVE the same degrees we have to get. And they will always, always ALWAYS be cheaper. Gonna get your Ph.D in math? Guaranteed there's already 100 Indians or Chinese or whoever that have them and are vying for your position.

ALL offshoring and inshoring/visa abuse should be stopped until you have several new emerging technologies for the displaced to assimilate to. Oh wait, that TOO can't happen. Not only has nano-, bio- and whatever-o-tech already got the jumpstart over in Asia and India during the last administration (which was fervently anti-science to it's own detriment), but now were seeing reports of green jobs being shipped overseas as well . . . the jobs that were supposed to be leading US to a greater long-term economic foundation.

We cannot afford to follow the same path our predecessors have taken for the past 20 years.

If one was conspiritorial to the n-th degree, one would think this was all a foolproof plan by the wealthy, corporations and colleges to keep the middle class, poor and all of us 95%ers in "our station" for life. But I'm starting to go with a certain director who said "I don't believe in conspiracies, except the ones that are true".

A powerless, uneducated, fearful and divided work force is an OBEDIENT work force. It's simply sad beyond belief that Democratic administrations who saw the monumental damage caused by 28 years of Republican and Moderate free-trade follies are still falling for the same Republican and regressive way of conducting business.

[area51]

5. +1

It's more than just sad that democrats aren't doing anything about the damage that NAFTA, etc. have done, they agree with republicans that Americans don't deserve jobs. Things will eventually get so bad here there's going to be violence in the streets, but it probably won't be within my lifetime.

[Starry Messenger]

4. k&r

[OHdem10]

6. How much "retraining" is needed for a Service Econom,y???

How many Bankers, CPAs. These are the better paying jobs.
These jobs are pretty well covered by Graduates of the
Ivys.

That leaves Retail Sales, Waiters Waitresses, Warehouse
Workers, Truck Drivers, UPS and Fed Ex.(better jobs here)

Are you getting the picture??? A deliberate move was made
to turn this economy into a Service Economy. A Service
Economy cannot sustain thie country (J. Immelt, GE).

There are two things all Administrations do which make
the eyes glaze over.

In Free Trade, EDUCATION is the SAVIOR. This is important
people. LONG TERM, over the long haul Education will help
our children. IN THE MEANTIME, what is to be done with
all these out of work employees? Neither party addresses
this. If Kids do not see people being employed now, you
will never get their participation. They do not believe
there are going to be jobs for them. Obama is simply doing
the same old Free Trade Talk. Education is important
but those darn Free Trade Agreements need some work.
Yell education , but continue to outsource jobs, Mr.
President is not a winning game. Young people started
dropping out long ago. I can remember Magazine Articles
of Kids questioning why all this schooling to work at WalMart.