Mad in America
A middle class protest song about job off-shoring, outsourcing, and plant relocations.
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PLEASE send this website URL to everyone on your emailing lists and get a grass fire going around Mad in America and what it says. Ask radio and television talk shows to play it!
Mad in America single is available online at:
and many other popular music download sites.
Send a copy to your Congressman and Senator while you're at it.
This version is mixed radio ready, however if you are a media personality and need a hardcopy version, send an email to the address below and one will be sent to you. Thanks to all the college stations for putting this song on the air!!! Please pass it on!!!
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http://americaneconomicalert.org/aboutus.asp
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United
States
Business
and
Industry
Council
Fighting for American Companies and American Jobs since 1933
Dear Folks,
As the G20 meeting approaches, USBIC Research Fellow Alan
Tonelson has identified a new, major, world trade-related
obstacle to U.S. economic recovery and the return of global
financial stability -- America's participation in the World
Trade Organization.
As his column in yesterday's Washington Times observes, in
normal economic times, the WTO never lived up to its billing
as an impartial global trade court, and instead reflected
the interests of its export-obsessed majority. Today, he
notes, the Organization's rules are preventing Congress and
the administration from taking urgently needed, common-sense
steps to revitalize genuine U.S. growth, pay down the
nation's debts, and rebalance the still-dangerously lopsided
world economy in the process.
Tonelson is available at 202-746-9366 for interviews on all
aspects of U.S. trade and international economic policy,
including the G20. USBIC President Kevin L. Kearns, a
former Foreign Service Officer with extensive experience in
G20 countries, is available at 202-957-9994. Interviews can
also be arranged by calling me at 202-266-3989.
We hope you agree that Alan's article has spotlighted an
important problem that President Obama and the other G20
leaders will need to tackle, and look forward to hearing
from you.
Sincerely,
Sarah Linden
Media Relations Coordinator
USBIC
Washington Times
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Deference to WTO hurts U.S.
Alan Tonelson
Neither President Obama nor congressional leaders want to
hear this, especially just before the Pittsburgh global
economic summit, but U.S. economic recovery and renewed
global economic health are facing a big new obstacle: the
World Trade Organization. The organization was sold to
Americans as an impartial global trade court. But quite
naturally, it has usually advanced the top priority of the
150-odd other members - growing by exporting to the U.S. For
years, the WTO helped fuel the global imbalances ultimately
responsible for the economic crisis. Today, it's blocking
the only hope for genuine global recovery - enough sound U.
S. growth to slash America's debts and rebalance a
still-lopsided world economy.
The "Cash for Clunkers" bill is a prime example. Like other
stimulus programs, the measure reflected long-standing
Keynesian orthodoxy that boosting spending is the best way
to revive production and, therefore, real growth in a weak
economy. But nowadays, this theory suffers a major flaw.
With so much of the U.S. economy overrun by imports, much
American spending leaks overseas - and stimulates foreign
growth and job creation. The Clunkers bill originally
applied only to U.S.-made vehicles - despite the high
foreign-parts content of cars and light trucks made
domestically by U.S. and foreign-owned automakers. But at
least the idea was right. Unfortunately, even this
threadbare "Buy American" requirement was removed, because
it clearly violated WTO rules by discriminating against
imports. Therefore, despite emergency conditions, pleasing a
deeply flawed international organization mattered more to
lawmakers than promoting concrete American interests. So
Cash for Clunkers inevitably turned into Cash for Imports.
The latest monthly figures, for August, show that 1.26
million cars and light trucks were sold in the U.S. - up
26.45 percent from July, when sales in turn were up from
June levels. But nearly 60 percent of the vehicles sold by
both U.S. and foreign-owned automakers in August were made
overseas, by foreign workers. Worse, American taxpayers
subsidized their purchase. The latest U.S. trade data
support these conclusions: May-July vehicle imports were up
34.29 percent. And these new vehicles, whether U.S. or
foreign brand, were increasingly foreign-made. From
Clunkers' introduction in March (to widespread expectations
of passage) through August, American vehicle production
surged 30.41 percent. But auto-parts production, which still
provides nearly 80 percent of U.S. automotive-related jobs,
increased only 1.06 percent. Largely as a result, since
Clunkers debuted, the U.S. trade deficit in vehicles has
jumped 56.10 percent, and the parts deficit rose by 16.23
percent. Thus, this WTO-compliant legislation pushed the
nation deeper into debt, and further from real recovery.
Conversely, the original Clunkers bill could have
supercharged genuine growth and private-sector job creation,
not simply spending and borrowing. According to the latest
data, had U.S. auto imports in 2006 remained at their 1997
levels, U.S. passenger car output would have been nearly 67
percent - or $59 billion - higher than the actual figure.
Had the 2006 import share of the U.S. auto market simply
stayed at 1997's 50.43 percent level, and not increased to
71 percent, output that year would still have been nearly
more than 45 percent - $40 billion - higher.
Yet despite this record, similar measures for two other
import-swamped industries are on the horizon that lack Buy
American-type provisions for the same WTO-related reasons.
In November, Washington will start spending $300 million on
consumer rebates for energy-efficient home appliances.
Although the markets are much smaller, debts and deficits
should rise nonetheless. After all, from 1997 through 2006,
import penetration for miscellaneous major appliances nearly
doubled, to nearly 30 percent. For household refrigerators
and freezers, and laundry equipment, it roughly tripled, to
some 36 percent and 29 percent, respectively. And any
consumer knows that these rates have risen since.
In July, two House members from Georgia proposed tax credits
of up to $2,000 for purchases of certain home furnishings,
furniture, and building materials. Democrat Hank Johnson and
Republican Nathan Deal call their bill the Home Improvements
Revitalize the Economy (HIRE) Act. But without Buy American
provisions, most hiring could take place abroad. After all,
except for some building materials, these sectors have
generally seen high and/or soaring rates of import
penetration. Unsurprisingly, imports now dominate U.S.
markets for curtains, drapes, bed linens, towels and most
furniture categories. But by 2006, industries such as
hardwood veneer and plywood, engineered wood products,
ceramic tiles, and lighting fixtures were in the same fix.
As the stimulus bill showed, domestic preferences for
government purchases can and should be part of all such
industry-specific recovery proposals. But despite
skyrocketing federal spending, the private sector still
makes up 80 percent of the nation's economy. That means no
recovery unless American leaders start putting their
country's pressing needs, and the world's, ahead of blind
counterproductive deference to the WTO.
U.S. Business & Industry Council is a national business
organization founded in 1933. Its 1,900 members are mainly
family-owned domestic manufacturing companies.
______________________________________________________________________________
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EE Times says Engineering Unemployment is at 8.6% and climbing
TN Visa - NAFTA Loophole - allows for easy immigration for aircraft mechanics
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Testimony in Washington DC from CEO Revere Copper (as in Paul Revere) on Offshoring -must read. Also on the main Revere Copper Website are other articles on VAT Taxes and the real cause of the meltdown in the US Economy today - a must read and send to your congress people.
Professor Norman Matloff http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/h1b.html and Professor Ron Hira http://www.rit.edu/news/index.php?p=experts&action=viewexpert&id=139.
On the effects of offshoring and temporary visas.
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Mad in America was produced by Tony Spada and re-recorded by ETx at Planet of Sound Studios in Hartford CT. Engineer Brenner Eugenides. The Mad in America song and video does not necessarily represent the views of the producer, engineer, filmmaker, nor all of the members of ETx, some of whom have had no connection with the song and video.
For any questions or comments, or to join our national email list, please contact us at
etxmusic (the AT sign) comcast.net
For a hardcopy of Mad in America on the CD "The Long Way Home" click below on
Please note that we respect, and encourage the rights of all workers and professionals everywhere. This is not about immigration - its about labor practices, fairness, our future as a nation, and as Americans.
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