“Having seen what I’ve seen, I would characterize this as a gross abrogation of American sovereignty. And I would further characterize it as a punch in the face to the middle class of America. I think that’s fair to say from what I’ve seen so far. But I’m not allowed to tell you why!”
“It’s all about tying the hands of democratically elected governments, and shunting authority over to the non-elected for the benefit of multinational corporations. It’s an assault on democratic government.”
Alan Grayson – On the Trans-Pacific Partnership legislation
Thom Hartman, writes at Alternet, “The TPP would give big pharmaceutical companies virtual monopoly patent power, it would let corporations sue countries in international courts over regulations that those corporations don’t like, and and it would gut American environmental and financial rules.”
Lori Wallach writes in the New York Times, “Ron Kirk, until recently Mr. Obama’s top trade official, was remarkably candid about why he opposed making the text public: doing so, he suggested to Reuters, would raise such opposition that it could make the deal impossible to sign.”
The Nation quotes Elizabeth Warren who thinks the TPP should not happen: “From what I hear, Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig the deal in the upcoming trade talks.”
According to Lori Wallach, in her Op-Ed at the NYT, TPP would include “more expansive incentives to relocate domestic manufacturing offshore than were included in NAFTA—a deal that drained millions of manufacturing jobs from the American economy.” Alternet’s Thom Hartman says bluntly, that if the TPP becomes law, it would “gouge the American economy.”
Although over 600 banks and corporations, and their lawyers and lobbyists, have access to the draft agreement, and are, in fact, writing it, we, the public—and until last June even members of Congress—are not allowed to know what’s in it. In June of last year, after 150 members of Congress wrote Obama complaining about lack of access to the TPP draft, he responded with a process whereby members of Congress can only read individual chapters of the document. If requested, a particular chapter is delivered to a Congressperson or Senator, who is required to read it alone, without staff present, and is forbidden to take extensive notes. After reading it, they are also forbidden to talk about it to anyone.
Rep. Alan Grayson, who spearheaded the effort to gain access to the TPP, and has read chapters of the draft said, “I can tell you it’s very bad for the future of America. I just can’t tell you why. ”
http://www.exposethetpp.org/TPPMedia2.html
Our congressmen and senators truly are scum. Read it. And then preach it to the world. Let obama try to stop them. It’s called being a man. It’s called loving your country.
If a dozen of them were to do it, then what?
Just another bill that must first be passed in order to see what’s in it.
I do not understand what leverage Obama has over legislators to prevent them from talking about the TPP. But, whatever it is, it is frightening.