Free Trading Away America's Heartland

A drive across the country is a lot of things - long, sometimes monotonous, sometimes beautiful, but above all, a glimpse into how our government's free trade policies have affected the heartland. Sure, we saw some benefits of that trade policy like the Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana, but those examples were far outweighed by all of the abandoned factories and mills that dot the landscape. Many of the towns we passed through were trying to make due by promoting their local historical museums, fast food chains, and motel strips (The Holiday Inn Express in Salina, Kansas is pretty nice). But it was clear that these towns' new efforts to attract tourists don't come close to replacing the better-paying jobs that have been exported overseas.

And make no mistake about it - we were reminded of our government's sellout free trade policy in all sorts of manners. Just two days ago, my brothers gave us an REI gift certificate for snowshoes for our wedding. We went to the gingantic REI in Denver and tried on many pairs, and I almost bought a pair of Tubbs snowshoes. Now today we found out in today's Boston Globe cover story that Tubbs is just the latest company that is shipping its operations overseas to China.

It would be easy only to blame the company - but as the article notes, its a product of a free trade policy that provides a financial incentive for American companies to troll the world for the cheapest labor - regardless of the social costs here at home. You see, firms such as Tubbs have to match "competitors already outsourcing to China and [m]ove there themselves to match labor and other costs." As the article notes, many of the workers who will lose their jobs don't blame company management because they understand the company needs to compete. Who should they blame? Politicians in BOTH parties who continue to push this free trade policy, even as it decimates the American heartland. Maybe that's why its time for Washington to seriously consider the current bipartisan legislation to repeal the China free trade deal, and renegotiate the pact on terms more fair to American workers...