Working Life

The Wall Street Journal has an interview today with George Bush that gives great insight into the disinformation, lies and, charitably, cognitive dissonance that underpins the Administration’s economic policy. "We have lost sight of what it means to be a nation willing to be aggressive in the world, and spread freedom or deal with disease," […]

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    Yesterday, I mentioned the protests in Costa Rica over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). From our friends at the Citizens Trade Campaign comes a reminder that there is a so-called "free trade" deal pending with Peru. They ask you to take action to stop the deal and here are the main reasons […]

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Yesterday, in Costa Rica, 100,000 people marched to protest the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). You thought that was a done deal, huh? Well, not as far as Costa Ricans are concerned, as a Reuters report tell us: More than 100,000 Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons, protested a U.S. trade pact on Sunday […]

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    For a long time, I’ve been watching the travails of Rep. William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson. “Dollar,” or as we like to refer to him in these parts, the man with the very rich freezer, was just indicted today: WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, […]

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I haven’t see this anywhere in the mainstream press: the Financial Times had a piece on Feb, 27th (yeah, sorry, it sat on my desk and I just liberated it from the pile) which reported that the Central American Free Trade Agreement might be headed for tough times in Costa Rica: The leader of Costa […]

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It’s not a CAFTA 15 Democrat but an incumbent Republican, who voted for CAFTA, now has a challenger. The incumbent, Charlie Dent, is definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer and this is one of those swing districts with a lot of what we used to call “Reagan Democrats.” And the challenger is making […]

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A couple of days ago, I wondered in Flotsam and Jetsam whether the Central American Free Trade Agreement was on the rocks. Today, Elizabeth Becker of The New York Times writes that, “Social Security is not the administration’s only economic initiative that is in trouble in Congress. The current centerpiece of President Bush’s trade agenda, […]

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Every so often, usually over the weekend, “Flotsam and Jetsam” will be a place to knock off various items that have collected over time that didn’t warrant an individual post or got rolled over for more urgent matters. The Rich Are Really Like Us!!! At least so said a May 5th article in the Wall […]

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As the fight over the Central American Free Trade Agreement heats up, I’ll have more to say. CAFTA is yet another in the so-called “free trade” agreements that basically write in law, “let’s screw workers for the sake of capital.” Okay, it’s a bit more sophisticated. Today’s Wall Street Journal, though, has some good news: […]

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I’m taking a brief break here from the goings-on at the AFL-CIO to raise the specter of the looming Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For some time, I’ve referred to CAFTA-like deals as so-called “free trade” deals because they have little to do with the theory of free trade and a whole lot more […]

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