GETTLEFINGER, GETS IT RIGHT!

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GOOD MORNING FLINT !
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Date 02/10/08 By Terry Bankert

Posted full article first to Flint Talk THEN summarized, for discussion, also posted to: http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=24423#24423
Full article at Google blog Good Morning Flint, http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/ with citations. also posted to MLIVE Flint JOURNAL Flint Community blogs, Flint Citizen, Craigs list, Face Book, My Space and . Please circulate and post freely. Do you have suggestions for other sites to post to. Recent BANKERT VLOGG on :Mediation #1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnHdn-Ilu0E
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Democratic Presidents are the only ones to get the economy right in your life time, past and future.[trb]

Here is something to think about. This economic problem is about debt. Since Reagan the country and the people in it have been borrowing huge amounts of money to keep things going. (Except for the years that Clinton balanced the budget and was paying back some of the debt.)[dj]

As America digs its way out of the Bush Depression quick fixes and long term solutions should be adopted But we need new leadership to do that, our President is incapable.[trb]

“Worried White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home. ‘It reminds me of the Nixon days,’ says a longtime GOP political consultant with contacts in the White House. ‘Everybody is an enemy; everybody is out to get him. That’s the mood over there.’[chb]

We get out of this problem by realizing we are at economic war not with international corporations but with the national soverinties that own them, control them or give in to them by activie policies that use their national wealth and political control to subsidize the very industries that have raped our national economy. Are you angry yet?[trb]

...a sound long-term strategy must include an aggressive plan to rebuild America's manufacturing base. [dnc]

I wonder why no one has pointed out the real reason the Republicans filibustered the "stimulus bill" this week? They blocked an expansion of food stamps, an extension of unemployment benefits, assistance for disabled veterans, help for seniors and a boost for renewable energy. [dj]

The republicans will protect wealth while throwing away human life.[trb]

Other industrial nations treasure their manufacturing industries and have developed policies to create and preserve industrial jobs. [dnc]

Please ask the following people What have you done in the last five years to protect our domestic automobile industry” Ask-Omama, Clinton. Stabenaw, Levin, Grandholm, and Dale Kildee.[trb]

GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH CONFIRMS MASSIVE CHINESE ENERGY SUBSIDIES TO STEEL INDUSTRY[aam]

According to a new report commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), the Chinese government has exponentially boosted its steel output over the last three years through massive, trade-distorting energy subsidies. Total energy subsidies to Chinese steel from 2000 to mid-year 2007 reached $27.11 billion. Despite China’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, energy subsidies grew, totaling $25.07 billion through mid-year 2007. [aam]

The Chinese as countries have through out history, exept for the U.S. today, have always held it to be in their national interest to protect and subsidize their companies involved in international trade. We bought one half of globalization hook line and sinker i.e. there is a world economy. We missed the second part which is that countries have to be watchful and protect their economic borders and subsidive their industries so that they can compete and dominate internationlly.[trb]

These energy subsidies include supports for thermal and coking coal, electricity, and natural gas.“Chinese subsidies exist, they are enormous and they are shaping the global steel market,” said the report’s author, Usha C. V. Haley, Ph.D.[aam]

Do we subsidize industry?[trb]

China has identified steel as a strategic industry, and both the central and provincial governments have decided to ramp up steel production with massive subsidies that have now been confirmed.”China is the largest producer and consumer of steel in the world, accounting for 40 percent of the global market. [aam]

2005 IMPORTER TO 2006 EXPORTER! WHY DID CHINESE GOVERNMENTAL SUBSIDIES GO UP 1365%? TO KICK OUR BUTT![trb]

Much has changed for China’s steel industry in the last 5 years. In 2005, China went from a net steel importer to a steel exporter. In 2006, China became the largest steel exporter in the world by volume, up from fifth largest in 2005. This enormous increase in production has come at a cost for U.S. manufacturing; more than 1.8 million U.S. jobs have been displaced since China joined the WTO, according to the Economic Policy Institute”[aam]

“This shift from a net importer to the largest exporter in a span of only two or three years is staggering,” said Dr. Haley. “Our analysis shows that energy subsidies have a very strong correlation with Chinese steel exports. In fact, the connection is so clear that, essentially, it’s possible to almost perfectly predict China’s steel exports from its energy subsidies.”[aam]

In her report, Dr. Haley notes that Chinese energy subsidies fell in 2002 and 2003, after China joined the WTO. However, the subsidies surged in 2004 and have continued to grow exponentially. [aam]

From 2000 to 2006, China’s total energy subsidies to steel grew by 1365 percent. In 2007, energy subsidies to Chinese steel are estimated at approximately $15.7 billion, showing a 3800 percent increase since 2000.[aam]

WE NEED THE INTERVENTION OF CONGRESS THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A FREE MARKET![trb]

“These subsidies need to be urgently addressed and remedied by Congress and the Administration,” said Scott Paul, AAM’s executive director. “They’re typical of China’s brazen subsidization as well as illegal practices like currency manipulation. China shipped 5.4 million tons of steel to the U.S. in 2006—more than double the amount in 2005. Washington needs to take strong action to correct this one-sided approach to trade which has given Beijing an unfair competitive advantage while harming American businesses and workers.”[aam]

WE HAVE LET OUR WORKING MEN AND WOMEN DOWN.[trb]

Here in the U.S., we've done little or nothing while entire industries like toys, textiles and televisions have moved offshore. Which means a sizable chunk of the tens of billions of dollars that Congress is set to pump into the economy will wind up stimulating new sales and jobs overseas, instead of here in America. [dnc]

LACK OF GOVERNMENTAL POLICY HAS CRUSH AMERICAN INDUSTRY THAT HAS THROWN MILLIONS INTO POVERTY. IN THE SHORT TERM WE MUST HELP WORKING MEN AND WOMEN.[trb]

There is near universal agreement that extending unemployment insurance and enhanced food stamp benefits is the fastest, most effective way to stimulate the economy. These benefits put money directly in the hands of those who need it -- and who will spend it directly into our struggling economy. [dnc]

WE NEED HELP! CONGRESS WHAT ARE YOU DOING TOMORROW , NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH!?[trb]

The head of the UAW says last year’s groundbreaking labor deals are not enough to ensure the survival of America’s automotive industry.[FJ08]

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF GOVERNMENTAL INTERVENTION IN THE MARKET! ITS WHAT GOVERNMENTS HAVE ALWAYS DONE.[trb]

Public policy also must change to support manufacturing, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Friday in a speech in Cleveland.[FJ08]

“Unless we take action, we’re going to see a continued decline in manufacturing industries, and the hard work we did to preserve U.S. jobs during our 2007 auto negotiations will be compromised,” Gettelfinger said at the City Club of Cleveland.[FJ08]

He (GETTLEFINGER) also blamed the problems of American manufacturing on the lack of a cohesive national industrial policy to build up American manufacturing, which, he argued, has led to the movement offshore of entire industries.[ccb]

The labor deals signed last year after brief strikes at General Motors and Chrysler allow automakers to pay new workers lower wages to perform “noncore” jobs, give those workers access to a 401(k) retirement program instead of a pension and have new workers pay a larger portion of their health-care expenses.[FJ08]

Fair trade agreements, as opposed to what he said are current free trade policies, would press for a level playing field on issues such as employee and human rights.[ccb]

He, Gettlefinger, added that he was disappointed that the economic stimulus package recently approved by Congress did not included extended unemployment benefits for laid-off workers.[ccb]

As an economic stimulus package moves rapidly through Congress, promising one-time rebates to tens of millions of Americans, legislators should not forget those who need special assistance in these tough times: Every week, 200,000 jobless workers run out of unemployment benefits. [dnc]

TRAINED UNION LABOR CAN COMPETE IN THE WORLD MARKET. THE CHINESE KNOW THIS.[trb]

Gettlefinger also “...stood up for the productivity of union labor and urged the country to adopt a single-payer health care system”.[ccb]

Citing the respected Harbour Report of automotive manufacturing operations, he said, “Trained, experienced, union workers with a voice on the job add value to the manufacturing process.” [ccb]

IF WE DO NOT PROTECT OUR MIDDLE CLASS, AMERICANS WILL SOON BE A RELIC ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE.[trb]

In the long term, we need policies that will raise income for America's workers -- week after week in every paycheck. A worker who receives a one-time rebate can make a one-time purchase. But a worker who receives a pay raise can plan to buy a new car or a new house or to send a child to college. [dnc]

MAKING STUFF WITH AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE HAS ALWAYS WORKED , BUT PRESUMED IS THAT OUR ECONOMIC BORDERS HAVE BEEN DEFENDED BY CONGRESS.....TODAY THOSE ECONOMIC BOARDERS ARE IN SHAMBLES.[trb]

Autos, construction, housing and education for the next generation are long-term drivers of economic growth. But working people's wages are stagnating, middle-class jobs are disappearing -- and with the price of gas near $3 a gallon, we can barely afford to drive our own cars, much less the U.S. economy. [dnc]

We need a sharp turnaround to protect and expand good-paying middle class jobs. The increase in the minimum wage passed by the new Democratic majority in Congress in 2006 was a good start. [dnc]

THE QUICK FIX IS TO GET $ IN THE HANDS OF THE CONSUMERS.[trb]

Taxes and unions got us out of the depression. Redistribution of income. Taxes on the rich, the money used to build infrastructure and provide good jobs, and unions to force the corporations to give raises and benefits. In a consumer economy you want more money in the hands of the consumers -- not the rich. [dj]

THE LONG TERM FIX TO TO STRENGTHEN OUR ECONOMIC BORDERS, SUDSIDIZE INDUSTRIES THAT COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY, PROVIDE HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATE OUR WORKFORCE AND THEIR CHILDREN.[trb]

—end---

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Posted here by Terry Bankert 2/10/08 http://attorneybankert.com/ 36622

—where did this stuff come from---
[FJ08]
The Flint Journal 02/08/08 http://www.mlive.com/fljournal/frontpage/pdfs/M_saturday.pdf
[dj]
Dave Johnson Yahoo News http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080208/cm_huffpost/085710
[trb]
Comments of Terry Bankert
http://attorneybankert.com/
[ccb]
Craines Cleveland Business http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080208/FREE/968103675/1099&Profile=1099 [chb]
Capitol Hill Blue http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7445.shtml 36976

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