Çortlani» (Obstruer Page 8 July 27. 2011 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. New Prices Effective May 1,2010 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: I sm all H allw ay) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services): $25.00 Area/Orientai 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 • M inor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 il à M n a m ia M M M M M m n a M M im ta n * Enough with the Free Trade Nonsense What we need is a trade war by W illiam A. C ollins Does it matter that no cell phones are made in America? Or scarcely any solar panels? Or that 91 p e rc e n t o f W a lm a rt's goods come from China? Should we care that our sundry free trade agreements have caused so many of those spiffy products on our shelves to be produced in the world's grim­ mest sweatshops? Maybe not. As the world's capitalist bulwark we benefit more than most from the result­ ant cheap prices. But it turns out that free trade causes a couple problems for us too. One is jobs. They're gone. This isn't surprising since we don't make stuff here anymore. With nine percent unemployed and another nine percent under­ employed or dropped out, who's left with money to buy things? Even Walmart is now shifting its focus to overseas markets since our middle class is shrinking so. Median family income is plum­ meting. Then there's the debt. Every month we buy sh ip lo ad s more stuff from oth­ ers than they buy from us. Thus our foreign debt piles up faster than nuclear waste. The only way we can avoid disaster is to stop buying, but that annoys the mostly American cor­ porations who profit from it. They m anufacture or su b co n tract those goods abroad but wield great influence over the govern­ ment and politicians at home. Thus we watch in awe as Presi­ dent Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner propose still more free trade agreements that will make it even more prof­ itable to produce abroad and export back to the U.S. market, tariff-free. A m erica's subservient flat- earth econom ists don't mind that at all. They visualize all those abused sw eatshop w ork­ ers grow ing up into consum ers one day and buying foreign- m ade (but U .S.-ow ned) prod­ ucts w herever they happen to be. O ther econom ists under­ stand the horror of those w ork­ places and fail to envision those w orkers ever becom ing real consum ers. No doubt time will produce some of each, but in any case few new jobs will accrue to the United States. That damage is already well advanced. Anyone who has traveled to the Eurozone lately will confirm that the dollar isn't worth much anymore. This plunge will accelerate as Re­ publican lawmakers play games with our national debt ceiling. It just takes one black mark from a rating agency and you can kiss your dreams of a trip to Europe goodbye. What America really needs today is a good old-fashioned trade war. Give the required six months notice, withdraw from NAFTA, DR-CAFTA, and the WTO, and start over. Interna­ tional trade agreem ents are meant to benefit corporations, not workers. And if you think such treaties are bad for people here, well for poorer countries they're worse. A good healthy trade war would dramatize the issue and haul our present trade cabals out of the back room where Ameri­ can negotiators are not fit to be trusted. Already they have agreed to allow corporations to bypass na­ tional court systems and sue gov­ ernments in international tribu­ nals over local environmental, labor, and zoning laws that may hurt their profits. Citizens have suffered under these rulings. Corporations, though, have made out like bandits. Ourpolitical lead­ ers may thrive on America's mindless shooting wars, but trade wars are needed now to save the country. OtherWords columnist Wil­ liam A. Collins is a form er state representative and a fo rm er mayor o f Norwalk, Conn.