Repost: 'Why jobs keep vanishing'

cumulative trade deficits since 1976 add up to a staggering $10 trillion.......... from philly.com.......

"Generations of politicians from both parties have failed to stem the country's rising trade deficit. That's the real reason jobs keep disappearing and workers' living standards keep dropping"

"There's only one problem: Congress is wrought up over the wrong deficit. The real deficit issue that has been out of control for 35 years is the trade deficit. That's the one that has decimated the American workforce, blocked the creation of millions of jobs, created millions more jobs for people in other countries, triggered pay cuts for millions of workers who still have jobs in the United States, and generally lowered the standard of living for many at the bottom and in the middle of the economic pile. Those at the top have flourished quite nicely under this policy.

NAFTA's influence

Rather than stimulating exports to Mexico, NAFTA triggered a rush of American companies to invest south of the border, and Mexican imports to the States surged. In the five years before NAFTA, Mexican imports increased 51 percent. In the five years afterward they jumped 91 percent. General Motors even built housing for its new workforce south of the border. As for exports to Mexico, the growth rate actually declined, according to the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute (EPI)

Who's to blame?

But don't fault just Congress. Every occupant of the White House, regardless of party, has been equally zealous in selling out workers on trade matters. For decades, every president has been an ardent advocate of free trade and has resisted any significant step that might be interpreted as protectionist, this even though our trading partners were doing the opposite.

So the charade goes on. While Washington mouths platitudes and gives lip service to trade reform in a never-ending cycle, the trade deficit soars. Thanks to both parties, the cumulative trade deficits since 1976 add up to a staggering $10 trillion. That's trillion with a T, an ocean of red ink that translates into millions of lost jobs. But you never hear about that. The politicians and the news media only talk about jobs created by exports. They never mention the jobs eliminated through imports"...........READ MORE