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Page 6
June 8, 2011
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New Prices
Effective
May 1 ,2 0 1 0
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet -~x
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
A Trade Agenda that Sadly Resembles Bush’s
Still waiting for
a new approach
T rad e policy isn't neutral. It's a
specific set o f rules that tend to
fav o r specific actors. R ather than
learning the lessons o f the 2008
by K aren H ansen -
food price crisis — that g o v ­
K uhn
ernm ents need the ability to
B arack O bam a's trade
shield key m arkets from e x ­
policy, as em bodied by
trem e v o la tility — this agree­
the pending U.S.-Colom -
m ent sim ply replicates the
bia free trade agreem ent,
20th-century m odel.
sadly resem bles G eorge
Like N A FTA did for M exi-
W. B ush's blueprint. It
•k— cans,theU .S.-Colom biaagree-
prom otes export grow th and in v est­ ment w ould subject Colom bian farm ­
m ent at the expense o f local eco n o ­ ers to im m ediate com petition from
m ies and resilient food system s.
U.S. exports. D uties on 70 percent o f
T h is is u n fo rtu n ate, not only U.S. farm exports o f w heat, barley,
because it fails to d eliver the "21 st- soy, and m ost processed foods w ould
cen tu ry " trade ag en d a P resid en t be elim inated immediately.
O b am a prom ised on the cam paign
T h e deal w o u ld a lso ab o lish
trail, but also because it ignores Colom bia's "price bands," which kick
so m e o f th e key le sso n s fro m in to protect local farm goods when
N A F T A and the 2008 global food prices fall. W hile prices are high for
price crisis.
now , m any C olom bian farm ers will
For decades, the prim ary p ro b ­ find it difficult tocom pete with goods
lem for agriculture has been low w hose prices can vary so dram ati­
prices, w hich com pel farm ers to cally.
co n tin u e to produce m ore and m ore
As in M exico under N A FT A, tar­
to m ake up in volum e w hat they lose iffs on co m and a few o th er sen si­
in falling prices, and to seek ever tive products w ill be phased out
ex p an d in g m arkets at hom e and o v er a lo n g er period. In M exico,
abroad. C heap im ports have flooded N A F T A pushed m ore than tw o m il­
developing countries, devastating lion farm ers out o f agriculture. T hat
poor, sm all-scale farm ers, w hile fail­ show s how even a long transition
ing to stabilize incom es for A m eri­ m ay be inadequate w hen no real
can grow ers.
alternatives fo r rural em p lo y m en t
exist. M any o f those farm ers w ere
com pelled to m igrate to urban areas
o r the U nited States to find w ork.
T he O bam a adm inistration says
that this trade deal w ill help the
South A m erican nation, citing the
C olom bian governm ent's p ropos­
als to restore lands to people d is­
p laced by civil conflicts. Yet there's
no assurance that farm ers facing
com petition from U.S. exports or
new investm ents facilitated by e x ­
panded trade w ould be able to stay
on their land.
In the w ake o f the free trade pact
am ong the U .S., C entral A m erica,
and the D om inican R epublic know n
as D R -C A FTA , the non-profit group
A ctionA id docum ented num erous
cases o f G uatem alan farm ers w ho
were pressured by palm oil and sugar
producers to sell their land to m ake
w ay for industrial-scale production
o f a single crop. M any o f these
farm ers had been granted titles in
the w ake o f that country's civil w ar,
only to lose them again w hen inad­
equate access to credit and other
inputs m ade it im possible for them
to earn a living.
T his new trade deal also calls for
d e re g u la tin g fo reig n in v estm en t
rules, w hich could put new pressure
on land as m ining com panies e x ­
pand operations. A pparently, our
trade n egotiators aren't heeding the
lessons learned from the N A FT A
and D R -C A FT A deals.
This export-led m odel has a dow n­
side for U.S. farm ers too. D espite
rising agricultural exports, the nu m ­
b er o f sm all, com m ercially viable
A m erican farm s has dropped by 40
percent in the last 25 years. V ery
sm all farm s serving local m arkets
(and relying on off-farm incom e)
and very large farm s have increased
su b stan tially .
U.S. farm ers, like theirC olom bian
counterparts, need reliable public
support and consistent m arket sig ­
nals so that they can invest in local,
regional, and national food p ro d u c­
tion to feed their com m unities and
their nations. T rade should supple­
m ent local food system s, not seek to
replace them . T he U .S .-C olom bia
pact w ould reinforce a system that
leaves farm ers and consum ers at
the m ercy o f volatile prices and
m arkets. Instead, w e need a new
approach that ensures fair, healthy,
and resilient food system s for all.
M ore than tw o years into the
Obam a administration, we're still wait­
ing for a 21st-century trade policy.
Karen Hansen-Kuhn is the Insti­
tute fo r Agriculture and Trade
Policy's International Program
Director.