McIntyre Working to Clean Up the Mess Hayes Created

nothing more than a tax-payer funded band-aide on free trade policies that Congress has refused to do anything about. It has been around since the 60's.

Why should we be kissing Mike's hand for voting to take our money to pay for a problem he and his peers refuse to fix? This is, in a word, bullshit! Will it benefit a few people? Yes. Is it a solution? No. Do ya think 40 years might be long enough?

McIntyre is one of those Dems who continues to receive support simply because he's a Dem and we can't seem to find anyone better to run. He voted for the Military Commissions Act authorizing torture and denying Habeas Corpus to "alien detainees" as well as voting to gut Posse Comtiatus. Now, he'd like us to believe he has been opposed to this all along. He is chair of the House Ag subcommittee that includes oversight on foreign agriculture...yet we can''t get COOL implemented. It took months to even get his attention on the Naval Landing field.
Even Burr and Dole were on board before Mike.

Mike is real good at handing out our money around the District. He doesn't listen and he's a blue dog.

I'd like to like him...but I've given up.

SE NC Dems

because he knows McIntyre better than all the rest of us put together.

All this does is harden my resolve to distance myself from the Party establishment. I may be cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I'm with Stan.

I agree with Stan on McIntyre. He is no hero on this. Hayes and McHenry also voted for it. This from Rob Schofield over at Progressive Pulse:

One of the best things about the vote was that 38 Republicans, including North Carolina's own Hayes and McHenry were among the "yeas." Once again, we were witness to the phenomenon of political self-preservation trumping allegiance to market fundamentalist ideology.

He is also correct that it is a band aid. Hell, more like tossing crumbs and calling it cake.

That said, the bill is critically needed in NC. We are one of, if not, the largest state beneficiaries of TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) and will continue to hold this dubious distinction. Again from Schofield in a separate article:

At last count – even under the current system – more North Carolina workers (almost 72,000) had been certified eligible for TAA services than any in other state. Given the state’s ongoing struggles with foreign competition, this number could rise dramatically under a revamped and expanded program.

The bill expands the definition of trade affected to include folks in service jobs. What happens to the folks at the local diner or dry cleaner when it shuts down after Pillowtex closes?

It also increases the health care provisions from 65% to 85%. Pillowtex workers were faced with monthly COBRA premiums around $1000.00. Under the program, they would have to come up with a prohibitive 350.00 of that amount on top of their more immediate housing, food, transportation costs. (An aside: the application process was a 2-3 month ordeal before receipt of approval, potentially resulting in policy cancellation. NC’s Employment Security Commission sought and received an emergency grant to fund immediate access until the federal approval.)

Finally, Stan is also spot on about federal politicians refusal to address the problem. Trade agreements that do not include labor, safety, environmental, and quality standards create a double whammy. Jobs go elsewhere and the receiving country’s workers never raise their standard of living enough to buy whatever products we still have to offer. Win-win for corporatists. Lose-lose for working people everywhere.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down:

From The Hill.com

The vote paves the way for floor action early next month on a free trade agreement (FTA) negotiated with Peru that has divided the House Democratic Caucus. Moving the expanded trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program in conjunction with the Peru deal is meant to make some Democrats more comfortable with a vote on the trade agreement.

If it helps people hurt by corporatism, it gets a veto:

The TAA bill, however, faces an uncertain future. On Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget issued a veto threat if the bill reaches the president’s desk in its current form.

Robin Hayes voted for CAFTA. NAFTA was before his time, I do believe.

Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.