In all our thoughts about ourselves and our own individual lives, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that we are part of something bigger, namely the world around us. Yes, this is what causes us so often to retreat into ourselves, but we can learn things "in here" that we can put to use "out there".
For example, employment, unemployment and underemployment are all problems we face. If we have a job, we're afraid to lose it, so we tow the line. If we don't have a job, we are often willing to take anything, since we (often erroneously) believe that something is better than nothing. I don't know if it's a majority of us but it's certainly more than anyone would like to admit, many, many people are underemployed; that is, they are working in jobs that don't make full use of their qualifications. (And, by the way, if anyone tells you that unemployment is high because there is a skill shortage, feel free to just slap them ... there's hardly anything that is more meaningless to say.) This, however, is all positioned to change ... and not for the better.
In at least tuning in part-time to the world around us, our American friends should be aware that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is heading toward closure. This is a free-trade agreement that the Americans are negotiating in secret with a number of other nations around the Pacific Rim. Simultaneously, the EU is negotiating with the Americans regarding an EU-USA Free Trade Agreement as well. Neither bode well for us little people. Both of these exercises in insanity must be stopped.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with free-trade agreements. It is precisely this that makes Europe (both the EU and the EFTA) as strong as it is. Our problems come from imbalance; that is, from treating unequal partners equally. This is the same reason why NAFTA is not working as it should, but NAFTA was taken as the example of how to develop a trade deal that offers only benefits to the corporations, not to the people. The TPP and the EU-USTA are designed with only corporate interests in mind. If either (or both) of these are put into practice, we can't begin to number the people who are going to suffer. If you don't believe me, read up on them yourself. And once you have, you will soon realize that regardless of how politically different you and your neighbor may be, when it comes to these, you are both going to get screwed equally.
This is one of those instances where the Devil is truly in the detail. When spoken of from a high-enough level, it all sounds very nice, but once you look behind the facade, through the smoke and mirrors, you quickly realize that our good plays no role in the negotiations whatsoever. So, once again, though we are apparently on opposites sides of an issue (for example, capitalism and free markets), we soon come to realize that we little folks are not intended to have any say in the matter. I can assure you, though, that we little folks will be the first ones to feel the effects. I'm not over-exaggerating when I say that a lot of us are not going to survive either one, and a whole lot of us won't survive both.
I mention this for the simple reason that faced with such bleak prospects, rash and false decisions on our part will only increase the damage. If there was ever a time to get informed, to understand what is happening to us, this is it. You can't say you weren't warned.
No comments:
Post a Comment