Insanity is said to be defined as repeating the same actions and expecting different results. Now that NAFTA is a proven failure, the decision-making by the Obama administration to push the South Korean Free Trade Agreement can only be defined as insane.

This trade deal is rife with provisions that will harm the American economy. Non-tariff barriers, such as the value-added tax and the promise of a government audit for any Korean citizen who buys an American vehicle are not addressed by this agreement. This agreement will do little to help America sell more cars to Korea, which currently sells us 615,000 each year compared to the paltry 7,000 we export to that nation.

Ian Fletcher, author of the book ‘Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace It and Why’, wrote in a recent article, “The Obama administration doesn’t seem to grasp this. Apparently, it’s just fine for America to sell Korea beef and they can sell us cars. Like a well-behaved colony, it’s our job to be a captive market and supplier of raw materials.”

However, being a ‘captive market’ does little to create jobs as opposed to an industrial economy. Industrial strength supported by sensible government policy of regulation and tariffs helped the U.S. become an economic superpower, and the abandonment of this philosophy for the madness of unregulated free trade has led to the nation’s decline.

Manufacturing jobs provide higher pay and benefits than service work, and also help to spawn other industries and fields (research and development, etc.). As outsourcing continues to eat away at our economy, we now have less people employed today than a decade ago. The ‘jobless recovery’ is quickly becoming the jobless economy because of failed trade policy.

Academia, the government, the media and business have now all been cross-pollenated as individuals move from one entity to the next and the failed concepts of ‘free’ trade permeate all of these institutions, most notably America’s trade diplomats. Frequently, important officials naively dismiss the dangers of free trade, or push for what will help enrich themselves and the corporate boards they serve on.

These are the key reasons why it is necessary to voice your opinion on these important matters and educate your peers and politicians. Without action to save an economy in crisis, we will soon reach a tipping point where it will be impossible to do so.

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