Author: Greg Spotts

 ISBN: 1932857168

The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews

This book looks at CAFTA, the Central American Free
Trade Agreement, the newest attempt to bring "free
trade" to the Western Hemisphere. A companion to the
recently released DVD called "American Jobs," this
book shows that the reality of free trade is nowhere
near as bright as the promise.

If free trade in general, and CAFTA in particular, is
such a wonderful thing, then a few questions come to
mind. Part of the attraction of free trade is that
people in Latin America are going to start buying lots
of US-made products, leading to new jobs here in
America. How is that going to happen when the trend in
wages is very much downward, to see who can reach the
bottom first? It takes years, and higher wages, to
create any sort of consumer society in Latin America.
If high American wages are an "inefficiency" to be
gotten rid of as soon as possible, who is going to buy
all those hundred-dollar sneakers and wide-screen TVs?
Where are all these new industries for which laid-off
American workers are supposed to retrain?

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and
outsourcing in general, has led to a large loss of
jobs. In the 21st century, over 3 million American
manufacturing jobs are gone, never to return.
According to one estimate, almost 900,000 jobs headed
to Mexico because of NAFTA. Those maquiladora jobs are
now leaving Mexico and going to China, where the wages
are even lower. Over 1.5 million Mexican farmers have
been forced off the land because of cheap (and
subsidized) American agricultural imports. The same
thing will happen in Central America if CAFTA comes
into effect. None of those displaced farmers are going
to head north and illegally enter America?

This is an excellent book. It doesn't go into much
detail (that's not the intention), but it gives the
reader plenty to consider. It is written in
easy-to-understand language, so even those who know
nothing about free trade can understand it. Overall,
it is very highly recommended.