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U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans addresses a
gathering at the November 2003 Miami Summit of the Americas. His talk
describes the economic and political benefits to flow from an FTAA agreement
en route to a “unified hemisphere.” References to free markets, increased
competition, greater democracy and freedom, improved property rights leading
to increased prosperity for all are designed to appeal to most ears,
particularly the conservative majority in America. Editor’s comment:
The pro-FTAA vision of free trade is merely deceptive bait for an audacious
political power grab. Incredibly, even the bait is phony. Yes, freedom and
property rights are the foundations of genuine prosperity. But what the FTAA
offers is just the opposite: massive government regulation of virtually
every aspect of human endeavor; and international socialism—the
determined enemy of freedom and private property.
Prosperity does not flow from government programs. Nor does
redistribution of America’s wealth through international lending agencies
indicate respect for the rights of private property. Instead, such socialist
attitudes support the rising burden of government that is killing American
industry and driving our manufacturing abroad. In addition, FTAA sponsors
quietly entice corporations to invest in nations otherwise hostile to
private capital. They do so by instituting government-funded development
programs (wealth transfers) and government investment insurance (backed by
the American taxpayer).
The FTAA will not advance freedom, it threatens freedom. The FTAA is not
win-win for the rich and poor nations of this hemisphere. Except for an
elite few, all the peoples will ultimately lose. |
