EXPORTING JOBS, IMPORTING WORKERS
An Afternoon With Pat Buchanan's AMERICAN CAUSE
On Saturday, March 6, I attended a terrific event sponsored by Pat Buchanan's Organization, "American Cause."
The day began with a change in plans. An early morning call from campaign manager Scott Whiteman revealed that he could not join John Lofton and myself for the day's event since he was taking his wife to the hospital to have a baby. This is the ultimate excuse that trumps everything -- a situation that just won't wait!
After a quick trip to Scott's house to get some materials and directions, John and I were off and running to Arlington, Virginia for the event entitled, "Exporting Jobs, Importing Workers."
Along with Mr. Buchanan and Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) were a dozen excellent speakers addressing the dangerous trade and immigration policies of the Bush Administration. An audience of about 200 enthusiastically listened and learned from experts in the field of immigration, trade, labor and manufacturing.
It was refreshing to be with people who recognize that "free trade" is a policy that is not good for America and for American workers. What was clear from the speakers' presentations is that the present policies of "free trade" and open borders are disastrous for our country, its citizens and American culture. Moreover, it is most certainly clear that the Bush Administration does not care about the current disaster or the future collapse of the culture.
Mr. Jim Panyard, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, gave some revealing details of what is happening in Pennsylvania as a result of trade policies that cause manufacturers to move out of the country. In recent years, manufacturing jobs have shrunk from one million to about 715,000 and continue to disappear at the rate of 150 per day. The ripple effect in the economy is profound since suppliers and service providers go out of business as well.
In contrast, Pennsylvania has 785,000 government employees, leading Mr. Panyard to observe that there are now more "takers" than "makers" in Pennsylvania.
An excellent presentation of irresponsible immigration and its effect on the culture and the economy was given by Mr. Roy Beck of NumbersUSA. Roy is well versed and very articulate. I have been reading his book "The Recharting of America" which deals with the false arguments used to promote runaway immigration and how to refute them. The book is most helpful and insightful and I recommend it.
I am most grateful to Bay Buchanan and to Linda Muller who made me feel quite welcome at this event and made sure to introduce me to many men and women from whom I learned much. Thank you, Linda and Bay. And thank you Pat Buchanan for founding "American Cause" and for making these speakers and this information available to us.
(As of this writing, Scott and his wife are still waiting for that new baby!)
