Bush policies lose jobs

To the editor:

The Bush administration is negotiating an entire new generation of trade agreements that will expand NAFTA to the entire hemisphere, expand the World Trade Organization and accelerate the kind of job losses we have experienced in Southeast Missouri. These new trade agreements will cover not only manufacturing and agriculture, but extend into new areas of the economy such as services.

Voters who are concerned about our nation's trade and outsourcing policy should know that there is a significant difference between the presidential candidates on this issue. John Kerry supports more trade, but he recognizes that new trade deals need to have protections for workers and the environment in order to put the brakes on the race to the bottom that encourages companies to move in search of ever lower wages.

Kerry also says that existing trade policies (like NAFTA) need to be examined and corrections made where necessary to ensure that working families benefit. Kerry understands that the outsourcing of good jobs undermines the middle class. And our tax laws, trade agreements and other economic policies should not be helping companies to move jobs out of the United States.

The Bush administration, on the other hand, has suggested that outsourcing of jobs is acceptable or even desirable: "Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade," said Greg Mankiw, the chair of the president's council of economic advisors.

Voters should keep in mind where the candidates stand on these issues when they cast their ballots Nov. 2.

MARK BAKER, Jackson