Like most people I have many reservations about presidential candidate Donald Trump, but I must concede that he has brought some much needed attention to issues that have been quietly ignored for years.
Specifically I'm talking about the trade agreements we have with other countries that are loaded with one-way concessions....they win, we lose. Too often we're just opening our wallets and saying, "Here, take what you want." Are we dopes or what?
Example: The US has signed many "open skies" agreements with other countries, allowing airlines to fly to and from cities in the US from cities in the other airline's host country (British Airways/London-NY-London, Air France/Paris-Atlanta-Paris, Delta/Washington-Amsterdam-Washington, etc). One requirement is a rather vague statement that says the airlines involved "stipulate certain degrees of labor protections". This should theoretically stimulate fair competition, which is a good thing.
Enter Norwegian Airlines. They are already a "low cost carrier" similar to Southwest and JetBlue....no harm in that, I say. But now Norwegian has set up an ultra-low-cost subsidiary (Norwegian Shuttle) in Ireland *RED FLAG* that will be using Asian (most likely Thai) flight crews on flights in and out of the US.
Norwegian's rationale in simple: Ireland is a low-corporate-tax nation, and they have very liberal labor laws that allow using foreign employees who will work for much lower wages. This is a loophole that you could drive....er....fly, a 737 through! And our trade negotiators couldn't see this coming? DOH!
There are two ways to look at this: If you're a squeaky cheap traveler wanting to get to Europe and back as cheaply as possible, you'll have no problem with the idea of bare bones flights with bargain basement crews, but if you're a US airline employee, you know the pressure will soon be on you to work cheaper if you want to keep your job.
Haven't we learned already that sending jobs overseas will help corporate bottom lines, but at devastating expense to American workers? Sure, Walmart prices are cheap, which is good since that's about all formerly well paid US workers can now afford. If we keep making stupid deals like this, we'll all eventually do nothing but flip burgers and give each other haircuts.
No, I don't want to overpay for jeans or a flashlight or an air conditioner, but I'm willing to pay a bit more to not have to throw American workers under the bus. Trade agreements that will competitively open up markets for US and other countries products are good. But trade agreements that are rigged from the get-go against us, HELL NO!
To me this isn't a liberal / conservative, Democrat / Republican issue, but just common sense.
S
You make a great point. If only it were someone more palatable than Trump making it.
ReplyDeleteSo we're supposed to require foreign airlines to use American pilots in American airspace? Is that what you're saying? Air travel is already so terrible I can't see Norwegian Shuttle making it any worse.
ReplyDeleteWhile you might pay more for American goods, studies show that's not a priority for most people, which is ironic because many of those people are probably the ones wanting "good jobs" back in America.
Anyway, Ross Perot had it right about NAFTA twenty-some years ago. It has been a giant sucking sound, though not just to Mexico.
Get a grip Pat. I don't care if an airline uses its own nationals, but just not shop around for the cheapest Third World labor they can find in order to screw Americans.
DeleteHm...I remember reading an article geared towards people wanting to travel to Europe cheaply that mentioned the Norwegian budget airline. Of course the article didn't explain the background. I'm glad you pointed this out - this certainly will affect my thinking about rock-bottom airline ticket prices.
ReplyDeleteA lot of politicians/people have pointed this out other than the despicable Trump. Christ all Friday, don't give that bottom-dweller any more press than he already has gotten.
ReplyDeleteAs I remember back from posts months ago, you said you thought he had some good ideas, and was 'refreshing' in his lack of what was then called 'political correctness'.....still feel that way? Still think he's saying what the 'silent majority' is thinking but not saying?
This demagogue has managed to point out the worst in this country, and make them rally to his side.
I wonder what in the f*** could make someone think this person could be the president of this country?
Got a little carried away there, did I? Apologies.
DeleteHey, throw the guy a bone. He got one right. You know what they say about sitting a monkey down at a typewriter. 😂
DeleteFor a while there, people were talking about how bad the trade deals were. Remember Seattle in 1999?
ReplyDeleteThe terrible aspects of these trade deals (they can essentially overturn our laws, giving us a choice of massive fines or non-enforcement of certain employment and environmental laws; disagreements are determined by a secret corporate court; it typically requires YEARS to get out of em once you're in) became obvious and after NAFTA and GATT and the WTO, people were fighting mad.
Then 9/11 happened and no one ever mentioned them again... Until this year. Hopefully, we are ready to have a serious conversation about these deals at last.
Why give Trump credit? Someone other than Donald has been saying this:
ReplyDelete"Bernie Sanders believes that the top priority of any trade deal should be to help American workers. Unfortunately, as Bernie has warned year after year, American trade policy over the last 30 years has done just the opposite. Multinational corporations – who have helped to write most of these trade deals – have benefited greatly while millions of American jobs have been shipped overseas." (feelthebern.org)
Why give The Donald credit? Because the press covers him like he was stink on shit. Trump says something and it's all over the news for a week. He gets people's attention, and this is one topic that IMHO needs attention. 😏
DeleteAir line aircraft, take off- depart- en-route - arrive and land on auto pilot. The skill set has changed as quick as cell phones. The largest problem is the speak and understand English for communications. So if the pilots pass SIM and IOE, they should be equal. I do not see a problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm not suggesting the pilots can't get the plane up and then down again, or that the flight attendants can't pass out sandwiches. I'm saying with payroll and fuel the two largest items that determine airline pricing and profits, these guys will have an incredible advantage over developed nations airlines. The profit motive being all-powerful, it isn't a stretch to suggest US carriers could transfer their international operations to a shell company domiciled in the low-tax Cayman Islands for example, pink slip their American flight crews, and replace them with crews from India, Cambodia, and South Africa. And why not then replace their ground crew with guest workers from Vietnam and Nigeria?....house them in company dormitories and feed them noodle soup and green tea. (Think Foxconn in China.) Eventually a pay equilibrium will emerge where 3rd world labor sees a huge increase and advanced country labor will see a major decline....they win, we lose. In fact that's been happening for 20+ years in manufacturing as production shifted to low wage countries. The US middle class has declined from 60% of our population 20 years ago to just 49% today. Fact. Why are we just handing over our prosperity? Umm...could it have something to do with politicians and lobbyists?
DeleteNevermind.
DeleteI now see your point. Ships have done this for years, now airlines could do the same. The Unions have a battle ahead, history shows it will not end well. We watched a couple biased documentary shows and the CEO's and Owners said it was just not profitable to battle EPA, Unions and lawsuits, so they moved to Korea and Vietnam, where the workers are happy. The last one was funny though, 'There's No Place Like Utopia'. Yes your post is right on.
Now let's not start on the Norwegians. I AM half Norwegian, you know.
ReplyDeleteUmm...not NorwegianS. Norwegian Airlines, which is probably just a Tea Party front. Feel better now? ;)
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