CAFTA Woes

With the passage of CAFTA it appears that the pharmaceutical industry and the corporate lobbyists have beaten the workers and the residents of the CAFTA area. However, there are also more casualties, and one of those is movement towards free trade. As the NY Times reported, in order for the Republicans to force CAFTA upon the country, they had to promise almost instant gratification by restricting textile trade with China, not exactly what one would expect from a party that claims to be the party of "free trade". It is also emblematic of the party's misuse of the language, especially in economics. For example, the push for 'free markets' and 'capitalism' overshadows many restrictions to competition that the Administration supports that many economists and others, including many in the business community do not support. For example, in the run-up to the War in Iraq, the contracts for reconstruction and support were not procured in a competitive bidding process, but were instead allocated in a process that heavily favored political connections instead of lowest costs. This is a common theme throughout the Administration. They only use the rhetoric when it is convenient (even if it is misleading, as it is with 'free trade' and CAFTA).