Has free trade sold out the American worker?

[sweeps]

Driven by the insatiable greed of Wall Street profiteers and accelerated by the false promise of free trade, our manufacturing base has been chased out of this country and along with it the livelihood of millions of hard-working Americans.

Commentary: Free trade has sold out the American worker - CNN.com

[jIM_Ohio]

NO-
the ability to stay at home with tax "incentives" like the EIC and similar financial loopholes (handouts) like welfare/food stamps and unemployment keep the people which once needed to work manufacturing jobs out of the work force.

If those people were forced to return to work, you would see many issues getting fixed. less need for entitlements, higher supply of workers.

Eliminating Unions would also help.

[EEinNJ]

The mayor of an auto town obviously has an agenda, but he's laying the blame on public policy, not the management of car companies. The auto business is global- foreign brands are built here, and the Big Three Stooges have buy parts and have plants in other countries.

My company builds manufacturing equipment, and business is good. But our biggest customer sends the equipment to Mexico, Europe, Georgia, Texas, and other foreign countries Doesn't have anything to do with NAFTA. In fact, they pay a premium for CE compliance for Europe. Part of it is cost, part of it is the workforce. The white-collar jobs are still here, but manufacturing jobs have been evaporating for years.