Political Quotes

“many working Americans fell like they've been left on the sidelines in the high-stakes game of international trade. As U.S. companies expand overseas, corporate profits soar. Workers standby watching for some tangible benefits for their own pocketbooks. A May 1999 Los Angeles Times story captured Americans' skepticism toward trade. The story found just over half the public in March 1994 believed that treaties such as NAFTA would create U.S. jobs, with only 32% fearing jobs loss. But by December 1998, the attitudes had flip-flopped. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 58% of Americans believed that trade had reduced U.S. jobs and wages. Nowhere has Americans' growing alienation from the world trading system been more evident than at the November 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting. The nightly news was filled with the pictures of workers protesting the WTO in the streets of Seattle. This sense of alienation will continue to grow unless workers themselves start to see more direct benefits from trade. The legislation I am pleased to introduce today with Senator Baucus is an effort to narrow America's dividend divide in world trade. Our bill, The Working Families Trade Bonus Act, says that when companies win from world trade, workers should win, too.”