The North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA has had a major impact on the economic structure of the United States. I am sure most blue-collared North Carolinians know exactly what I am referring to. According to Congress, NAFTA's benefits would greatly outnumber its costs to our country in the long run.
Some Americans believe that this foreign trade agreement has indeed brought the United States prosperity and unity with our neighboring countries, but in fact, unemployment has steadily risen and the standard of living has steadily declined because of this very agreement.
Our textile and apparel industries are rapidly disappearing because of the relocating of our plants and our jobs to overseas countries. How could any true American foresee a prosperous outcome from this? Our government seems to have lost us in the paperwork, or in a matter of speaking, left us for dead.
In fact, according to Robert E. Scott in his online article, Where the Jobs Aren't, since NAFTA was passed in January of 1994, the U.S. has lost more than 3 million jobs and job opportunities. This overwhelming figure equals to 2.3% of the total labor force and this figure is two years old! Worse than that, 124,700 of these jobs are right here in North Carolina, which makes North Carolina the second hardest hit state in the whole U.S. and at the rate it's going will soon be top dog at suffering from job loss!.
I know these are drastic statistics that most people don't even want to think about, especially the business owners that are profiting from foreign relocation and foreign trade, but what about the little men? They are the ones who have made those companies from the ground up and all they"re getting to show for it is their overall "American way of Life" being uprooted and shipped overseas! Therefore, "We the People, of the United States" should unite and do something to prevent our "Made in America" tag from completely disappearing!.