Is NAFTA Good for the U.S.?

This question was posed in a letter to “The Welchway” in the April 22, 2008 column that appears weekly in Business Week. It is written by Jack & Suzy Welch.  Jack is the former CEO of General Electric and is most likely the primary writer of this column.  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/

content/08_17/b4081138462308.htm

The article contends that “countless American product lines have withstood the onslaught of Asian imports thanks to Nafta and partnering with Mexico.”  Well the product lines may have withstood the onslaught but American jobs have not.  NAFTA is part of the export of American jobs.  Some have gone to Mexico and many more have gone to Asia.  American workers are hurting badly and so is the entire American economy as the result of the exporting of our jobs.  The result of this situation is that it is now almost impossible to buy any item that is made in the U.S.A.  The third effect is that the dollar is now worth less to other nations and that is helping to drive up the cost of oil.

Of course the Jack Welchs and the Jeff Immelts (current CEO of GE) of the world are not impacted by this situation.  American corporate executives now earn 200 times the average American salary.  Corporations are all doing just fine thank you.

This will be an issue in the next election for president of the United States.