Will Pitt: Killing a Nation With Euphemisms: TPP-Eats-Medicare Edition

[antigop]

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31521-killing-a-nation-with-euphemisms-tpp-eats-medicare-edition

In other words, TAA is a bill to provide "assistance" for all the people who are absolutely going to lose their jobs if the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP) passes ... and the passage of that trade bill is what all this TPA and TAA mishigas has been about.

"Trade Adjustment Assistance" ... isn't language just such wonderfully malleable putty? It would not in any way surprise me if, somewhere in the dank bowels of a building in Washington DC, there exists a think tank solely dedicated to the crafting and deployment of crass yet terribly effective euphemisms. "The Clear Skies Initiative," also known as "Let the polluters pollute as much as they want." "No Child Left Behind," also known as "Conformity over creativity and critical thinking." "PATRIOT Act," also known as "We're watching you, bub."

And now, this. You're not fired, laid off, outsourced, downsized, removed, erased, kicked to the curb, bounced, deleted, expunged, cut, dismissed, chucked, or even screwed. Nope. You've been "trade adjusted," right out onto the sidewalk with a box of your stuff in your arms and a disorienting buzzing noise rattling the inside of your skull. Such a kind euphemism for so traumatic an event. The boys in the bowels of that building sure put the work in on that one.
...
The politicians in DC are working hammer and tong to take millions of people to the cleaners, coming and going. If you lose your job to the TPP, you will get insufficient "assistance," followed by less-funded Medicare support. If you don't lose your job, you'll still be dealing with the smoking hole in Medicare funding made by the trade bill that caused your neighbor to lose her house after she lost her job.

THANK YOU, WILL!

[djean111]

1. Even if, as I suspect, enough Congressional body parts have been slathered with K-Y Jelly,

and Obama gets what he so bizarrely and desperately wants, A YES vote for the TPA/TPP/TISA/ or any other related agreements means no support or vote from me whenever I am given the opportunity.

Although I am positive that many Dems have strategized about who can vote yes and not worry about it, and who can vote no and not affect passage. Because this is America, land of the free and home of the brave. Not.
I will also be basing my voting on the membership list of that New Democrat Coalition, too. They may as well have the Kochs on their home page. Well, that's harsh - how about Jamie Dimon, shooting his cuffs so we can see his BFF cuff-links.

[cascadiance]

2. Yes, so many ways we are getting screwed that go under the radar...

With Free Trade allowing overseas "outsourcing" and H-1B allowing domestic "outsourcing" here, so many of us are not getting paid what we got 15-20 years ago, if we even have jobs. Those that are working now are working a stream of short term contract jobs, etc. as that is what the market has transformed in to. By working this way, we are being forced to pay the 10% penalties on early disbursement of IRA and 401k funds we have when we lose our savings, and health insurance is also now screwing us too.

When we work a stream of different jobs and have to switch between jobs frequently we also have to switch between different health insurance carriers. Just yesterday I found out that the newer insurance I have won't pay the $500 I have to fork out for just testing I need to diagnose what is happening with the sleep apnea I have now (that killed a DUer here a week or so ago BTW), just because I have a new $2k "deductible" that we get thrown in to so much when we have to switch plans so that we don't get a lot of health care covered like we would have had in the past had we had longer steady permanent jobs.

I wonder how much sleep apnea will get worse for me if I have to make use of this TAA service to moon light to get new training for whatever (and what that will actually get me). I already had to quit a second job to keep it from getting worse a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks Will for highlighting that this just tells us this bill is CRAP for the vast majority of American people and should be PERMANENTLY filibustered in the Senate today moreso than any other bill that has been obstructed over Obama's term.

[lark]

3. The TPP is devil's work,

promoted by the 1% and their cheerleader Obama. Funny that the TAA money is coming from Medicare. No true progressive would support this, but the corporodems sure do.

[Fred Sanders]

4. Will Pitt again forgot the sarcasm emoticon? Again?

[JDPriestly]

5. The Truth. Painful, but the truth.

[Enthusiast]

6. The TAA is an admission that the US will lose jobs to the TPP "trade deal".