It Started in 1972 with Nixon

In 1972 the Late President Nixon opened trade talks with China. For the most part, a significant number representatives from both political parties and the American people expressed concern. This was for the fact that China was a communist country. Secondary to that was the human rights issue. U.S. corporations at the time had been doing business in Hong Kong, then a territory of Britain. Much of that business was mostly financial. Manufacturing was limited almost exclusively to non-U.S. corporations.

U.S. corporations were still led by people who saw the devastation caused by the depression, they were there when the U.S. became the economic super power after World War II. They helped create that economic strength not just for America, for other nations as well. The next generation of CEOs led the corporations, they learned from the previous generation how important it is to keep our nation strong. To them, taking jobs away from Americans was not a moral or patriotic thing to do. Taxes on the other is something entirely different. Today's generation of CEOs don't have a problem putting Americans out of work.

In 1973 OPEC closed the oil lines into the U.S. Economically, that did almost as much damage to the U.S. as the financial crash in 2008. The American public, Congress and industry stressed and asked for more exploration and drilling in the U.S.. The U.S. oil companies had the country backed into a corner, they wrote their own laws which included tax breaks and subsidies. Billions of dollars in tax revenues would be excluded from the federal budget. For the next few years the budget got balanced, with very little room for improving the nation's infrastructure or a possible natural disaster.

In an effort to kick-start the economy, President Reagan and Congress deregulated the financial industry. Five minutes later the savings and loan sector failed. No money left for Congress to spend, taxpayers were on the hook to make up the difference. Congress tried to balance the budget by giving more tax breaks to corporate America, on the promise more jobs could be created. The jobs weren't in the U.S., the jobs were created offshore by using sub-contractors. Congress and U.S. businesses excluded the American worker from economic growth.

By the time President Clinton took the oval office, the U.S economy had barely stabilized. More U.S. manufacturers started closing their doors in the U.S and opening up in the Asia-Pacific region. This was slow at first, a few factories a year, then Congress started giving more and larger tax breaks to U.S. based companies. In 1994 President Clinton signed into law NAFTA. Likes rats on a sinking ship, U.S. manufacturers made an exodus to Mexico and Canada in an effort to get tax-free income. By the time Barack Obama took the oval office, 5,000,000 Amercans lost their jobs because of the FTAs and the financial crash of 2008 pushed that count to 13,500,000 by March 2011. With the public focused on jobs, the financial industry was taking greater risks to themselves and investors looking to make a quick dollar, with a blind eye by everyone.

With the global financial failure looming ahead, only those involved knew it was inevitable. Laws were being ignored, common sense replaced by greed. The signs were there, more people were getting caught in different financial scams. The housing market was starting to slowdown, then suddenly people who couldn't buy homes, were now getting them, most with short term variable rates. Banks weren't lending to small businesses. Upper middle class families were getting foreclosed on.

By 2008 the U.S. economy had been destroyed. President George W. Bush took the blame, although he was responsible for some of the damage, he wasn't the only one. Every member of Congress along with Reagan and Clinton are equally responsible. Special interest groups purchased laws that exempted their industry from regulation and taxes. Over 50% of U.S. corporations, most of which helped build this country literally from the ground up, were no longer in the U.S. except for their corporate offices. From President's Nixon to Obama, Americans have been ignored. Congressional members from both parties are more concerned about being reelected than strengthening the economy.

Without exception, every member of the House and Senate has voted in favor of giving tax breaks to ex-patriot corporations. The cost of U.S. labor was never an issue, if the tax breaks were revoked, dollar for dollar production and labor costs are almost exactly the same. The free trade acts continue to exclude the American worker. Congressman Kevin Brady reiterates President Obama's claim that the U.S.-South Korea FTA will create 280,000 jobs in the U.S.. Ambassador Marantis with the Office of the United States Trade Representative counters that claim with 70,000 jobs created. Given the historical facts and not the manipulated statistical data provided by U.S. corporations, Ambassador Marantis is most likely closer. As with the other FTA's, the agricultural industries in the U.S. will be the only direct beneficiaries.

All fourteen trade agreements are virtually the same in verbiage. Agricultural products such as corn, wheat, soybeans, dried peas and the like along with livestock products from beef, pork and poultry are provided almost exclusively by the U.S.. Textile and apparel products are limited also as to where they originate from. Cotton, wool and synthetics can come from any country directly involved with a particular agreement. In an effort to appease large campaign contributors the agreements allow for U.S. brand non-agricultural products to be manufactured in reciprocating agreement counties thereby giving tax breaks in which 100% of their income is tax-free

The unemployment rate has forced more Americans onto taxpayer subsidized food and housing assistance, a higher percentage than any other time in history. Without income and corporate taxes, the very people who need the assistance are the very people being cut from the budget. With less people working social security and Medicaid taxes, neither of which are subsidized with tax dollars, can't keep up with need.

Congress can't balance the budget because it gave the tax revenues away. Without collecting corporate and income taxes, the budget will never get balanced.