[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11489-S11490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICA, WHO STOLE THE DREAM?

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, lost in the rhetorical haze generated by 
pollster politics is a serious discussion of the principle challenge 
facing this Nation, that is, how can we arrest the decline in wages and 
living standards and restore the American Dream. Instead of addressing 
this fundamental issue, what currently passes for political discourse 
is a mindless discussion in which each candidate stands up and proudly 
proclaims that he or she is for the family and he or she is against 
crime. What neither party wants to address is the immutable connection 
between two decades of economic stagnation and dislocation, and the 
breakdown of families and the destruction of communities.
  In the past decade over 2 million high paying jobs in manufacturing 
have disappeared. The social fabric of hundreds of communities have 
been ripped apart. Those who have jobs are working longer and harder 
for less compensation. Isn't it more than a coincidence that the 
breakdown in the family and the collapse of our inner cities would 
coincide with an unprecedented era of economic insecurity? Once the 
land of opportunity, America now has the worst distribution of income 
in the industrialized world.
  Fortunately, the Philadelphia Inquirer has filled this void. In a 
penetrating 10 part series, the Pulitzer Prize winning team of Donald 
Barlett and James Steele have put a human face on the devastation 
wrought by our failed trade policy. From our unwillingness to enforce 
our trade laws to the sorrid spectacle of former U.S. officials lining 
up to represent foreign interests, Bartlett and Steele correctly 
identify the root causes of our economic decline.

[[Page S11490]]

  The strength of Barlett and Steele's piece is epitomized by the 
vicious attacks that have been leveled at this prize-winning team. 
Barlett and Steele have drawn fire from the same crowd who have for 
decades produced the same mindless, conventional wisdom that equates 
unilateral free trade with economic growth. These are the same people, 
whose wild assertions about NAFTA and GATT, were utterly false.
  During the NAFTA debate the purveyors of conventional wisdom anointed 
Carlos Salinas as the man of the decade, valiantly reforming the 
political system and transforming Mexico into a first world economy. 
NAFTA was supposed to usher in a golden era for U.S. exports to Mexico 
creating thousands of new high wage jobs. Two years later we have 
recorded $23.2 billion worth of trade deficits with Mexico. The Mexican 
economy collapsed into a depression and the man of the year, Carlos 
Salinas, is living in forced exile while the extent of his 
administration's corruption is documented in the pages of the New York 
Times and the Wall Street Journal. NAFTA was supposed to create a North 
American Free Trade Block to compete against Europe and Asia. Instead, 
Asian investment has poured into Mexico. A recent article in the Nikkei 
Weekly, specifically cites Mexico's low wages and NAFTA's duty-free 
access as the reason why Asian investors are flocking to Mexico.
  Mr. President, the same group that attacks Barlett and Steeles' 
objectivity, never once, during the debate on the GATT, questioned 
blatantly false assertions made about the efficacy of section 301, or 
the GATT Rounds' impact on the U.S. economy.

  While we were assured that the United States maintained its rights to 
use section 301, Japan's Minister of Trade and Industry boldly 
proclaimed that, ``the era of bilateralism is over, all disputes will 
be settled by the WTO.''
  In the year since the GATT/WTO has taken effect, our trade deficit 
has continued to soar at a record pace. Trade has become a net drag on 
the economy, robbing the United States of close to 1 percent of growth 
as imports consistently out-pace exports. Most pernicious were the 
claims made by the members of the Alliance for GATT Now. Claims of 
export booms that would lead to increases in employment. The reality is 
that 250 companies are responsible for 85 percent of U.S. exports. 
These same companies have been among the largest downsizers in the 
American economy. Pink slips rained down on workers at AT&T, IBM, and 
General Electric. According to an executive vice president at General 
Electric, ``We did a lot of violence to the expectations of the 
American worker.''
  How can those who have consistently been wrong about trade now turn 
around and question Barlett and Steele?
  Mr. President, this provocative series in the Philadelphia Inquirer 
has undermined many of the dubious assertions about trade. Assertions 
that for decades have been unquestionably accepted.
  I urge my colleagues to read this series, and I hope it will 
stimulate a much needed debate on the most serious issue facing this 
Nation.

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