What Is The Situation With The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) ?

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Three weeks ago, MSNBC led a roundtable discussion with President Barack Obama that primarily concerned his administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.  During the interview, the host gave the president a platform to fire back against criticism the plan has been getting from opponents like Senator Warren.  The president said she was “wrong.”

In an interview with Matt Bai of Yahoo News recently, the President reiterated his statement against the progressive leader Warren. “She’s absolutely wrong,” he said.

One of the strangest things about the trade deal TPP is the secrecy surrounding it.

It is so secretive that in March, the New York Times wrote an article about it in collaboration with WikiLeaks – the Julian Assange leak website.

NYT:   “The chapter in the draft of the trade deal, dated Jan. 20, 2015, and obtained by The New York Times in collaboration with the group WikiLeaks, is certain to kindle opposition…”

If Senator Warren is wrong, then why can’t the American public know the details of the trade deal? What we do know is that across the board, the TPP is going to open the door for foreign lawsuits against the U.S.  It has also been claimed that the U.S. lost over 5,000,000 jobs from the last big trade deal, NAFTA.

Free Speech TV discusses it.

MSNBC Hardball: Obama Says Elizabeth Warren Is Wrong On TPP

BreakingNewsToday

On Tuesday afternoon three weeks ago – April 21st – MSNBC led a roundtable discussion with President Barack Obama that primarily concerned his administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

This interview got a lot of attention among liberal pundits, many of whom feel that Massachusetts Senator Warren (D) was right and the deal could lead to the export of jobs and lowering of wages.

During Obama’s two terms in office, the U.S. has experienced slow, steady economic growth and economic indicators are up. Is it appropriate to risk a downturn or negative impact on the economy?

In the MSNBC Hardball interview, the host gave the president a platform to fire back against criticism the plan has been getting from opponents like Senator Warren.  In it, the president said she was “wrong.”

The TPP Trade Deal

MSNBC

Ed Schultz of MSNBC is upset with the president over the TPP trade agreement. There is general agreement on the left that large trade deals such as NAFTA end up hurting the U.S. by making it easier for American corporations to ship jobs to factories overseas, where wages are lower.

There is also evidence that trade with the U.S. is getting more lopsided and trade deficits have become larger since NAFTA, the last trade big trade deal. The TPP is also supposed to be a bigger trade agreement than NAFTA.

Another issue on the table: why is the TPP such a secretive trade agreement?

South Carolina Trans Teen To Get Apology From DMV For Forcing Her to Remove Makeup

Chase Culpepper, a transgender girl, is now getting an apology from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles after she was forced to remove her makeup when trying to take a photo for her first driver’s license in March of last year.

DMV employees told Culpepper, 17, she needed to “look male” in her license photo and refused to provide her with her license until she removed the makeup she was wearing, states ABC News.

A federal lawsuit was filed against the South Carolina DMV on Chase’s behalf by The Transgender Legal Defense Fund.

Media Refuses To Cover Trans Pacific Partnership

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed trade agreement between 12 “member” countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, The U.S.,  and Vietnam.

There have been complaints that the agreement will benefit the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the average person.

Wikipedia states that economist Joseph Stiglitz, organized labor, and The Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research argued that the TPP could benefit the wealthy but result in further job losses and declining wages.

“In December 2013, 151 House Democrats signed a letter written by Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and George Miller (D-CA), which opposed the fast track trade promotion authority for the TPP. Several House Republicans opposed the measure on the grounds that it empowered the executive branch. In January 2014, House Democrats refused to put forward a co-sponsor for the legislation, hampering the bill’s prospects for passage.”

Noam Chomsky, Senator Bernie Sanders, economist Paul Krugman, and economist Robert Reich have all complained that the TPP would lower wages for average people and help the wealthy become richer.

According to sources, the trade agreement has also largely been negotiated in secret. According to Wikipedia, Senator Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Alan Grayson have all complained about the level of secrecy surrounding the negotiations.

Secular Talk looks at the reasons why the media is ignoring the issue.

Secular Talk