Obama supports fair trade; McCain free. On trade, the two candidates seem like polar opposites. However, since both candidates did not fair very well with workers in the primaries, they haven’t been speaking much on trade.

Bloomberg.com had a great article discussing the trade issue. Trade can be a complex issue; even workers who benefit from trade don’t know quite what to think:

Matt Louiso, 53, president of the International Association of Machinists union local at the GE plant, says he and many of his co-workers don’t know exactly what that means.

“Trade is good for some people like us, but it’s bad that other American jobs are leaving the country. I’m so mixed up; I don’t know who I’m going to vote for.’’

Unfortunately, the candidates aren’t doing much to help clear up the confusion. “Since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, [Obama] has been mostly silent on trade, unless asked.” And McCain, while straightforward, hasn’t cleared up doubts about US worker’s job security. The only thing we can do is hope the reporters start asking the right questions soon.

Last 5 posts by Jeffrey Miller

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