Obama's TPP and the Streets of Baltimore

The revolt within Democratic elected officials and constituents against Obama on his “TPP” is growing, and becoming more pointed regarding the next Presidency, with the serious disturbances in Baltimore’s streets suddenly coming in focus.

With a New York City Council resolution against TPP now awaiting a vote to box in TPP supporter Rep. Gregory Meeks, LaRouchePAC activist Jessica White intervened forcefully in a Brooklyn Democratic Party meeting, that the issue of police violence, in Baltimore and other cities, was the economy, Glass-Steagall, and not allowing TPP to rob more jobs. She got strong support from the Democratic audience.

New York City Council Resolution Against TPP

The New York City City Council is presently considering the following resolution on TPP:

Whereas, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, Mexico, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, New Zealand, and Japan.

Whereas, Together, these nations contribute 40% of the worlds Gross Domestic Product, and one third of the worlds trade; and Whereas, The Office of the United States Trade Representative, through the terms of the TPP, is seeking to eliminate both tariff and non-tariff barriers to goods and services trade and investment among the twelve participating nations; and

Whereas, It has been reported that the agreement would include provisions concerning financial regulations, environmental protection, prescription drug pricing and food sanitation standards, the adoption of which could negatively affect the publics health, safety and welfare, and require an overhaul of Americas domestic legal system; and Whereas, The exact terms of this proposed agreement have not been disclosed to the public, with most known details having been ascertained through unapproved leaks from stakeholders; and

Whereas, Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution empowers the President of the United States “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of Senators present concur”; and Whereas, While some members of Congress have been able to view certain sections of the negotiation text of the TPP, they have been prohibited from sharing what they saw with the public or with their staffers; and

Whereas, President Obama has pressed Congress to provide trade promotion authority, or fast track authority, which would allow Congress only an up-or-down vote on the agreement once it has been negotiated by the executive branch with the other nations; and

Whereas, If Congress were to grant President Obama fast track authority, then decisions surrounding the TPP agreement could be made with inadequate transparency and public review; and Whereas, Congress would be unable to enact substantive changes to the agreement if it only exercises its oversight powers after negotiations have been completed; and

Whereas, There are concerns that the TTPs investor-state dispute settlement clauses, which were leaked in 2012, could grant international corporations the right to sue the federal government for damages if environmental, worker protection, food safety, or other local, state or federal regulatory safeguards do not guarantee their ability to profit from their investments; and Whereas, Over 500 employees of these same corporations maintain positions on U.S. Trade Representative advisory panels, which allows them to act as advisors to the drafting of the TPP; and

Whereas, The corporate advisors apparent conflict of interest could ultimately result in a trade agreement that undermines the regulatory and legal systems that keep everyday residents of New York City safe and healthy; and

Whereas, As the negotiations currently stand, there are concerns that the passage of the TPP would ban Buy American and Buy Local efforts by U.S. industries, which could put goods and services created and based in New York City at a competitive disadvantage; and

Whereas, Neither the National League of Cities nor the U.S. Conference of Mayors has been included in TPP negotiations, making it difficult to know whether New York Citys quality of life or financial and legal interests are being considered; and Whereas, Some constituencies and public policy advocates, such as the Economic Policy Institute, have expressed concern that over the last twenty years, the domestic economy has been hurt and upwards of one million American jobs have been lost as a result of agreements such as the TPP, in part, because partnering nations have cheaper labor workforces and less rigorous environmental regulations, providing incentive for American companies to outsource and offshore American jobs; and Whereas, Several other American municipal governments, such as the Berkeley, California City Council and the Dane County, Wisconsin Board of Supervisors, have expressed their opposition to the TPP by declaring themselves TPP-Free Zones, in which the TPPs regulations will not be respected, to the maximum extent allowable by federal and state law; and

Whereas, Resolutions from the City Council of Madison, Wisconsin and the City Council of Los Angeles, California have also declared their opposition to the TPP; and

Whereas, These local governments have recognized the harm that passage of the TPP can create and as a result have shown commendable leadership by opposing a treaty that would do a disservice to their citizens, as well as to New Yorkers; now therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares itself a TPP-Free Zone and urges Congress not to grant President Obama fast-track authority over, or permission to sign, the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

The Obama scheme is a “classified treaty,” and therefore a completely unconstitutional attack on Congressional responsibility. It is a “restraint of trade” in pharmaceuticals, digital software, etc., establishing and perpetuating monopolies. It gives banks and multinationals the ability to negate laws like Glass-Steagall without recourse to courts or Congress. And it robs wages and living standards even where it doesn’t rob jobs.

Baltimore Orioles vice president John Angelos issued a surprising statement via Twitter; although it did not name TPP or Obama by name, the point was made:

“My greater source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular case is focused neither upon one night’s property damage nor upon the acts, but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the U.S. to third-world dictatorships like China and others, plunged tens of millions of good hard-working Americans into economic devastation, and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every Americans civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state.

“The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, an ultimate price…. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights.”

Life expectancies in Baltimore neighborhoods differ by 20 years; infant mortality rates by 9:1 between Black and white residents. An African ambassador to the United States told Executive Intelligence Review:

“We have a common problem with the United States — look at the riots in Baltimore. These young people in Baltimore and other cities in America are faced with the same hopelessness and lack of a future that we see in Africa.”

While former Baltimore Mayor and Glass-Steagall campaigner Martin O’Malley walked the streets like Pennsylvania Avenue where rioting occurred, NBC-TV News’ Chuck Todd pointedly noted on April 28 that Obama has never personally gone to the Ferguson, Charleston, Staten Island, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc. sites of police violence and crowd reactions; “he doesn’t want to get involved.”

Opportunistically, Hillary Clinton made a “major speech” at Columbia University today on the safe issues of police body cameras and “an end to mass incarceration.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, however, speaking in Washington, said the TPP is the AFL-CIO’s “red line” for 2016 Presidential candidates; and to Hillary, “No candidate can be silent on any issue that’s important to the people. She’ll have to respond like every other candidate.”

Obama’s TPP and the Streets of Baltimore

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Obama’s TPP and the Streets of Baltimore

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