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The Dance of Politicians
By Joseph A. Zdonczyk, Wolcott
It all started with the passage of NAFTA and GATT. Democrats and Republicans colluded in the hope that no one would notice or could envision the effect that enactment of these agreements would have on working people. It was particularly galling to big labor which, to this day, constitutes a significant portion of traditional Democratic support. Labor did complain that passage would result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Democratic leaders could care less; after all, where could rank and file members go? The effect of the betrayal became apparent soon enough.
Corporations loved it. They were now able to export finished goods from newly built plants in foreign countries where labor costs were minimal, thereby increasing net profits exponentially. Surging profits were just the beginning. Having had their eyes opened, corporations were now able to explore other options. It soon became obvious that reincorporating in another country could save millions of dollars, as evidenced by Stanley Works' decision to reincorporate in Bermuda.
Republicans loved it. Typically biased towards big business, Republicans expected and received big bucks in campaign contributions from international corporations tuned in to the possibilities. Even a few bucks from corporate leaders paid off in ways beyond imagining. But what is a poor CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation to do? Those mean union types were really the cause of all the problems. Imagine them asking for wages enough to feed their families and send their kids to school.
What next? Well, now Representatives Johnson and Maloney are competing to pass punitive legislation to punish not only Stanley Works but every other corporation that took advantage of the breaks written into law by said Republicans and Democrats in the first place. You see, Maloney and Johnson are really the good guys. The companies are fleecing the government by not paying their fair share of taxes. So what's the beef?
What the pols object to is corporations depriving the federalies of lucre they feel is rightfully theirs. Don't corporations know that politicians are to be the sole distributors of wealth in this country? In short, it's OK when hundreds of thousands of jobs are sacrificed so that political campaign war chests can be filled to overflowing via corporate contributions, but it's not OK when those same corporations try meeting their obligations to shareholders by taking full advantage of laws on the books and increasing net profits.
Johnson and Maloney are playing games. Neither has the best interests of workers or, for that matter, the shareholders of Stanley Works or other companies at heart. An uppercut from Maloney to workers or a stiff-arm to Stanley Works shareholders from Johnson is the best we can expect from politicians accustomed to the dance.
Mr. Zdonczyk is the Concerned Citizens Party candidate for Congress in the 5th district.
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