McCain Touts Free Trade In Ohio

GOP Candidate Tells Struggling Towns That Benefits Of NAFTA Outweigh Costs

(AP)  Republican John McCain made a risky argument in a hard-hit Ohio steel town Tuesday, telling residents that free trade can help solve their problems.

That is a tough sell in communities that have hemorrhaged jobs as manufacturing moved overseas and cheap imports flooded the market. But McCain insisted that free trade is the solution and not the cause.

“The biggest problem is not so much what's happened with free trade, but our inability to adjust to a new world economy,” McCain said during a town hall-style meeting at Youngstown State University.

“I think the answer is to understand that, free trade or not, we are in an information and technology revolution,” he said. “So we want people to be part of that revolution, and we've got to be part of that new economy, rather than try to cling to an old economy.”

McCain, on a weeklong tour of “forgotten” places where people are struggling with poverty and job losses, made a stop at a shuttered steel fabricating plant in Youngstown with broken-out windows and a crumbling, weed-strewn parking lot.

There he criticized Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for saying, when they campaigned in the Ohio primary last month, that they would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA.

NAFTA expanded trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, eliminating most tariffs on a wide range of products from agriculture to cars to computers. Clinton and Obama said they would insist on renegotiating NAFTA and would threaten to opt out of the agreement unless Canada and Mexico come to the negotiating table.

“Protectionism and isolationism have never worked in American history,” McCain said.

The Arizona senator was competing for attention with the Democratic primary in next-door Pennsylvania, where Clinton was attempting to strengthen her case for a comeback against Obama.

At the forum, many agreed with the Democrats' assessment of NAFTA. A former AFL-CIO leader, Jack O'Connell, informed McCain that NAFTA is a four-letter word.

McCain cut through the tension with a joke.

“Jack, I am prone on occasion to make mistakes, but the last time I checked, NAFTA is five letters,” he said, laughing with the crowd.

In seriousness, McCain said the benefits of NAFTA outweighed the costs.

“I understand how emotional that issue and that agreement is, and those letters are,” he said. “There have been inadequacies, there has been dumping in our markets and there have been unequal wages.”

“I believe the overall result of NAFTA has been an increase in economic benefits to our country,” he said.

McCain argued that job training and government assistance program are inadequate and need an overhaul. “Right now, many of these displaced worker programs have no relation to where the jobs are.”

“I can't look you in the eye and tell you that I believe those jobs are coming back,” McCain said. “What we've got to do is provide them with education and training programs that work.”

He said struggling towns like Youngstown can rebound, much as his own presidential campaign did last year. McCain described how his White House bid was declared dead last summer as it hemorrhaged staff and ran out of money. He climbed back to win the New Hampshire primary in January and clinched the nomination with the Ohio and Texas primaries last month.

“You've been written off a few times yourselves, in the competition of the market,” McCain said.

Yet new businesses are beginning to supplant the old “rust belt” industry of Ohio, he said.

“Dramatic change can happen, in this great city and others like it,” he said. “With pro-growth policies to create new jobs, and with honest and efficient government in Washington, we can turn things around in this city.”

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, McCain is still trying to fend off criticism that he has been indifferent to the housing crisis and the market upheaval it spawned. Last month, he said he opposed aggressive government intervention. Since then, however, he has proposed aid for struggling homeowners, a summer holiday from federal gas taxes and other measures.

He traveled Tuesday to Ohio after campaigning Monday across Alabama's rural Black Belt, beginning his week with a speech against the backdrop of Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, the place where black civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by white police officers in 1965.

[mudrose-2009]

Encouraging the PROCESSING of humans (services?) leads to jobs like what Hitler offered HIS nation - CAMPS - and dehumanization of ALL BUT THE ELITE.

Last time I checked, I can''''t WEAR, EAT, LIVE IN or DRIVE a "service".

What happens when our ARMY OF HUMAN PROCESSORS gets DUMPED by the REST of the REAL PRODUCT PRODUCING world?
Posted by homespunlady

Oh, this is priceless. And you don''t think the little toads on the left aren''t going to process people? We will all be categorized and lumped into one great big pot of Big Titty Nanny Government. It will be Government Worker Programs. You like that better, I''m sure. It''s called the one size fits all Government Workers Program.

[sjc_1]

McCain''s gas tax holiday for the summer looked like political pandering, because that is exactly what it was. He will have to do MUCH better than that if he wants a chance at anything.

[homespunlady]

There''s a REAL FUTURE for our children - MAIDS, BUTLERS, GUARD DOGS and NANNYS - SERVANTS to the REST of the PRODUCT PRODUCING WORLD''S ELITE.

[homespunlady]

So, Mudrose , I AGREE that GORE is going in the WRONG direction creating "carbon taxes" rather than encoraging grassroots INNOVATION that MIGHT GROW into a viable industry if BIG BUSINESS and BIG GOVERNMENT allowed it.

My problem is with YOUR SUGGESTION THAT PROCESSING PEOPLE is the way to go.

This nation ALREADY HAS 25 PERCENT OF THE JAILED POPULATION in the WORLD with only 5 PERCENT of the world''s total population. That Hints that our INCARCERATION RATE is FIVE-HUNDRED PERCENT HIGHER than even the MOST REPRESSIVE REGIMES.

Encouraging the PROCESSING of humans (services?) leads to jobs like what Hitler offered HIS nation - CAMPS - and dehumanization of ALL BUT THE ELITE.

Last time I checked, I can''t WEAR, EAT, LIVE IN or DRIVE a "service".

What happens when our ARMY OF HUMAN PROCESSORS gets DUMPED by the REST of the REAL PRODUCT PRODUCING world?

[mudrose-2009]

There''s your Toxic Waste -- technology.

[mudrose-2009]

Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn''t seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius--which now have plans to merge--have regularly operated in the red.
Anyone who regularly books their flights online can tell you why the travel agent business is in jeopardy. So here''s a surprise: The Department of Labor only predicts a 6% drop in travel agent jobs by 2014. The demand for luxury and specialty travel, and increased spending on tourism, will buoy the industry somewhat. If you do plan to be a travel agent, best to find a niche field or specialize in specific-destination trips. Travel agents might also find success in organizing groups of foreign visitors to their home markets. But remember, the travel industry is highly connected to swings in economic conditions.

[mudrose-2009]

Health care, education and financial services--if you''re looking for work in the coming decades, these are the fields to get into.
What to avoid? The usual suspects. According to the projections by the U.S. government, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline by more than 5% by 2014 as production moves overseas. Same goes for textile workers, such as sewing machine operators, who will see a 36% drop in employment. Technology will kill off more office positions, such as file clerks. They''ll see a 36% drop in their ranks by 2014. Digital cameras will zap the manual photo processing industry by about 30%. And that guy who comes around to read your electric meter? Expect to see a lot less of him, too.
But these are the obvious victims as the U.S. moves from a goods-producing economy to a services-producing economy. More interesting are the jobs that are likely to experience slower than average growth (average being about 13%). This is where the surprises are.
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Like computer programmers. Despite all the advances--and expected job growth--in the computer industry, expect the number of programmers to increase by about 2% between 2004-2014. Why? Outsourcing. Americans who want a career in this field should find a specialization, like cybersecurity.

[mudrose-2009]

Mudrose

Those 30 CENT A DAY workers slogging it out in TOXIC and dangerous conditions in 3rd world countries to make TOXIC "products" for us so some CORPORATION can CUT EXPENSES is "TECHNOLOGY"????

Posted by homespunlady

So why doesn''t Al Bore go after all those Toxic companies instead of going abroad b/itching about America causing global warming? Huh?

[homespunlady]

I prefer my "technology" to be the SOLAR PANELS that Mexican owned AQUILA Utilities REFUSES to ALLOW me to put up.

I prefer WIND TURBINES that BIG OIL has campaigned behind the scene to SLOW development.

I Prefer RELEASING some of the ALL TIME RECORD FOR SIZE STRATEGIC OIL RESERVE and putting the SAVINGS back into THIS COUNTRY rather than FUNDING ANOTHER WAR!

JUST SAY NO to "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran". That would CERTAINLY HELP the US ECONOMY.

[homespunlady]

Mudrose

Those 30 CENT A DAY workers slogging it out in TOXIC and dangerous conditions in 3rd world countries to make TOXIC "products" for us so some CORPORATION can CUT EXPENSES is "TECHNOLOGY"????

[mudrose-2009]

He''s right about the information and technology age. Jobs just didn''t go overseas because of free trade, technology took over the labor force even on production lines. We now have computers on production lines instead of people, putting parts and equipment together. We see it happening all around us - in subways, when we place calls. How many times do you talk to a human and how many times are your prompted to press 1 for this, 2 for that, 3 for anything? Free trade has helped us and the countries we trade with. Grant it it''s not perfect, but it would be a mistake to isolate ourselves while the entire world is trading with each other. The Columbia Free Trade deal which Pewlosi pocketed would have allowed us to import our goods tariff free. Now they are able to import without fees but we aren''t. We are also sending a terrible message to Columbia that America doesn''t stand by its commitments. What else is new. So there you have it. Free trade didn''t kill off jobs, but technology did kill off manufacturing jobs and that''s a fact.

[antoniof123]

I said it before neo con are dumber than dirt.

What else can we say these nut cases are still singing the same tired old song and want Americans to sing along.

Hey morons see you in Nomvember the Republcians will see what it was like in the 1950''s.

[mcvet]

I really believe there is no one worthy to vote for this fall. We are all doomed either way.


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Posted by keeblers69 at 09:44 PM : Apr 22, 2008
+ report abuse

That''s rediculous!! There are TWO very good canidates out there slugging it out right now, attracting American''s into the debate as we have not seem in MY lifetime. If you can''t get excited about this election between Obama and Clinton, you are dead. MAN this is fun... brings back the days when we actually have elections instead of picking a CEO for the Country. Sieg Heil Bush

[mcvet]

American Workers don''t want protection they just want a level playing field. When they are asked to compete against 30 Cents a day wages, how is that possible? These "free" trade agreements are nothing but LIES and were set up NOT to benefit American''s at all... just the rich and powerful Corporations who can exploit poverity and low wages in other nations. ALL those great "New" jobs? They don''t exist and anyone with a brain should be able to see that. Sieg Heil Bush

[watcher269-2009]

resident Bush has set a record he%u2019d presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove

[homespunlady]

Here''s a "free market" idea McSame will NEVER consider.

RELEASE SOME OF THE RECORD HIGH STRATEGIC OIL RESERVES King George has BUILT UP AND USED TO JACK UP THE PRICE OF OIL on the American Citizens!!!

SELL IT BACK AT MARKET PRICES TO THE OIL COMPANIES and PUT the PROCEEDS toward ALTERNATIVE ENERGY and REDUCING the NATIONAL DEBT!!

The FIRST thing that would happen is the price of oils WOULD PLUMMET - JUST LIKE it DID the LAST TIME the OPEC PROFITEERS got greedy.

The difference (and why it won''t happen) is that King George is PART OF the OIL CARTEL PROFITEERS and Jimmy Carter WAS NOT. McSame through his "free" LOBBYIST "help" is OWNED by those same OIL PROFITEERS so Don''t expect THAT idea to see the light of day as long as OTHER COUNTRIES OWN OUR PRESIDENT..

[byeneocons]

McCain trying to sell NAFTA to people in Ohio is like Osama Bin Laden telling New Yorkers why 9/11 was a good thing.

This just shows how out of touch with reality he is.

Let''s just hope another 53 million Americans aren''t still so out of it they''ll vote him in like they did Bush.

Republicans have nothing to be proud of with the Bush record, and I truly feel for them with McCain as a nominee.

But I''m more concerned that voters are just self-destructing and accepting the fact that the military industrial corporate complex is digging our graves for us.

[keeblers69]

I really believe there is no one worthy to vote for this fall. We are all doomed either way.

[homespunlady]

Yep, NO NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY NAFTA is "beneficial".

THE PEASANTS are being made COMPLETELY brain dead by King George''s propaganda "NCLB" innovation and creativity KILLING, LOCK-DOWN and strip search PRISON vocational, Regurgitation Education program.

It SHOULD be called training the peasants to be good and stupid slaves for that "new GLOBAL ECONOMY" McSame LOVES SOOO much.

Then the McSame puppet TOPS HIS ELITISM OFF by MOCKING a UNION LEADER. GREAT way to IMPRESS THE PEASANTS there John Boy.

Here''s a HINT as to how a LOT of people other than your LOBBYIST FILTERED TOADYS are thinking:

NOT EVERYBODY has participated in "LEGAL POLYGAMY" and ACQUIRED A SECOND WIFE WORTH 100 MILLION PLUS - NICE DOWRY THERE.

TAKE YOUR George Bush Style FAKE "ranch" and FAKE CONCERN and get OUT OF THE REC(TUM) ROOM OF YOUR ELITE CRONIES long enough to SEE REALITY!!!!

The Smoke and mirror LIES just DON''T fool people when they are trying desperately to SURVIVE anymore than the FAKED BODY-COUNTS of the VIETNAM and now IRAQ Wars or the FAKED inflation and unemployment statistics you''re trying to "CON" us with!

[spoondog1981]

The problem with much of the Republican mindset when it comes to the economy is that they ASSUME ( or say they assume ) that the free market will take care of the consumer i.e. employers with more wealth and more freedom from the government will in turn take care of the employees that work for him. History has proven that a overwhelming majority could give a ***. Remember the Depression?

NAFTA is the perfect example of Companies clearly not taking care of their employees. McCain says that jobs will be created because the market is more open and goods/resources will be cheaper and more accessible. Sir, where are those jobs? If thousands of jobs are going to Mexico and companies are making more profit, how come that growth in profit hasn''t translated into new jobs here.

GREED. If companies make more money making a good or service while paying less and taking less care of union-less, poor Mexicans or any other person, do you honestly think that company is going to "retrain" that person who was laid off. They are probably going to send that job eventually to India or Malaysia anyway. McCain, and the other candidates for that matter, have not been specific enough as to how they are going to create jobs in places like Ohio, Michigan , Pennsylvania, etc.