With this CAFTA trade deal that was approved by the House today, I certainly disagree with Bush and the Republicans on this one. Bush is claiming that this deal will help with "national security issues." The President claims that these Central American countries will benefit with less restricted trade with the United States. He believes this will, in turn, give those countries better economies and will reduce the "threat" from those countries. I have problems with that reasoning. Does Central America really prove a huge threat to America? Sure, many of those countries have been struggling democracies for a while and have been trying to fight off rebels for quite a while, but there are other countries that provide bigger threats to our country. How many times have you heard of a terrorist coming from the Dominican Republic? I'm sure it could happen, but I think they are more likely to come from the Middle East and Europe, places that countless numbers of terrorists come from. And since when have you heard of Honduras trying to obtain nuclear weapons? I believe that threat comes from the countries like North Korea and Iran. Bush was certainly wrong to say that this trade agreement would help with the "security issues" of Central America. These countries should be the last on our mind when it comes to national security. Another reason not to support this agreement is the treatment of workers. Not only will more American jobs be moved to these countries where cheaper labor is available, but these Central American workers will probably not be treated with dignity. We have all heard about the sweat shops and kids working in horrible conditions for cents a day. This is more likely to happen to those workers than Bush's promise of better jobs for those people. This agreement also threatens the workers of America. Expect more and more manufacturing jobs to be sent to these countries. If Bush wants to improve the American economy, he should not make outsourcing so easy for American companies. I would have to agree with the Democrats on this issue. This agreement is wrong and threatens our way of life. (note, this is not common for me to support the ideas of a Democrat so don't get used to it, further proving my "independent spirit")
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