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Jun
8
Written by:
Jim Hansen
Friday, June 08, 2007
Mass movement of people around the globe is a logical consequence of economic policies that not only allow but encourage large private interest to move money, jobs and products around the globe with breakneck speed. Workers and small businesses (including farmers) in the United States AND in other countries know that trade and tax policies our countries have promoted are designed to benefit the biggest global corporations.
These big players have less commitment - virtually no commitment, in fact - to any particular community. They move money to where it will make quicker and higher returns. They move jobs to where they can force wages as low as possible without having to support the whole worker in return for their labor (i.e. their health, their family, their retirement). They look for raw materials they can extract as quickly as possible without being accountable for long term pollution or other costs that the people left behind have to live with.
Small businesses have a much deeper commitment to the communities where they are created. Global trade and tax policies have made it harder for them to survive. Workers have a much deeper commitment to the communities where they work. Global trade and tax policies have forced so many to uproot and follow the jobs they need to survive. Rural communities have a much deeper commitment to nurturing natural resources for the long-term. Global trade and tax policies have tied their hands when they confront huge multi-national corporations eager to convert local resources into quick profits that will be invested elsewhere.
US Senators are trained by their political consultants to focus issues on what polls tell them. Polls have to make issues as simplistic as possible so they can measure public anger, point blame at someone and develop a 30-second ad. No wonder they can only conceive of narrow solutions. Those consultants have trained their clients well. And, when problem-solving breaks down, they have someone to blame: Republicans won't work with Democrats because they are selfish, evil, corrupt, out-of-touch; Democrats won't work with Republicans for the same reasons.
Then, quietly, those same strident partisans get together and continue to help out powerful international corporations to increase their power to move money, jobs and goods around the globe. Why? In part because political consultants remind their clients they must raise thousands of dollars from those private interests EVERY DAY in order to build up the necessary $5 to $20 million dollar warchest to get re-elected.
Small businesses wiped out by global deal-making, workers struggling to find a job somewhere in this hemisphere, rural communities left with compromised water tables and crumbling infrastructure don't make big campaign contributions.
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4 comments so far...
Re: Can't ignore global causes of immigration pressures
Clearly, changing the way campaigns are financed is key to solving these problems. The hard part is getting the average citizen to recognize that changing campaign financing will have an effect on their own life. How does one get people excited about these sorts of things? Like you say, they are too complicated to put into the 30 second message.
By Virginia on
Friday, June 08, 2007
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Re: Can't ignore global causes of immigration pressures
Right. And, it is important in our daily conversations to keep focusing on the causes. We may not know all the details of global economics, but we know who the big beneficiaries are and who is struggling. When we let the public discussion focus only on the symptoms: i.e. that there are new immigrants in our community, we lose sight of solutions that might actually address the causes. We also miss the chance to form relationships among people who should be allies in solving the problem: families, small businesses and communities in the US, Mexico and every other country.
By Jim Hansen on
Monday, June 11, 2007
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Re: Can't ignore global causes of immigration pressures
It is the responsibility of the citizen consumer to make or force the changes that we want to see. Being a "smart consumer" means educating yourself on where the products you purchase are made or grown, and what practices went into their production. By purchasing locally made and grown products we as consumers can influence change. It is difficult to do, especially when budgets are tight, and the large multi-national corporations are able to drive prices. But these kind of actions can give consumers power and they can be attained. Already we are seeing the rise in popularity of locally grown, organic foods across the country, which I think is a backlash against the mass importation of food items from places like China where standards are very low.
By Ted Vanegas on
Thursday, June 14, 2007
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Any examples we can build on?
Good comments, Ted. We've tried to find some locally produced food sources, are part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group and buy locally produced organic milk. The milk might cost a little more but it lasts longer, tastes better and is not full of hormones.
Does anyone know of websites that help people locate locally produced food? Locally produced energy is a tougher thing for groups of consumers to demand, but I bet there are examples out there where organized communities have forced changes.
By Jim Hansen on
Sunday, June 17, 2007
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