You may very well be right. What was the reasoning so much production left the country? I didn't really follow that kind of stuff in those days.

 

My overall point is that the cause of this wasn't legislation passed in 1996.

 

NAFTA and the Free Trade Act.

US has been losing manufacturing jobs since way before 2001 though.

 

In our area alone we have lost over 17,000 jobs since 1999. All of them were pretty much tied into Furniture (Stanley, Hooker, Bassett, Ridgeway Clocks, etc) and Textiles (Dupont, Tultex, VF Knitwear, Fieldcrest-Cannon, etc). NAFTA and Free Trade Act pretty much sped up the process to record proportions and devestated the southern mill towns.

In our area alone we have lost over 17,000 jobs since 1999. All of them were pretty much tied into Furniture (Stanley, Hooker, Bassett, Ridgeway Clocks, etc) and Textiles (Dupont, Tultex, VF Knitwear, Fieldcrest-Cannon, etc). NAFTA and Free Trade Act pretty much sped up the process to record proportions and devestated the southern mill towns.

 

Nafta was early 90's though. I'll have to go check it out but I remember huge losses in the 90's and it may have been in the 80's also.

NAFTA was enacted around 1994. But my guess is that all those jobs didn't leave all at once.

Looks like 2 million manufacturing jobs lost from 79 to 99, another 6 million since then. :eek:

32 million drawing food stamps the day Obama took office.. Now 46 million are drawing food stamps.. http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/04/pf/food_stamps_record_high/index.htm

32 million drawing food stamps the day Obama took office.. Now 46 million are drawing food stamps.. http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/04/pf/food_stamps_record_high/index.htm

 

Not being disputed.

A lot of those are working families.

-- 47% of beneficiaries are children under age 18.

 

-- 8% were age 60 or older.

 

-- 41% live in a household with earnings from a job - the so-called "working poor."

 

-- The average household receive a monthly benefit of $287.

 

-- 36% were white (non-Hispanic), 22% were African American (non-Hispanic) and 10% were Hispanic

Eligibility criteria

 

To participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program:

• Households may have no more than $2,000 in countable resources, such as a bank account ($3,000 if at least one person in the household is disabled or age 60 or older). Certain resources are not counted, such as a home and lot.
  
• The gross monthly income of most households must be 130 percent or less of the Federal poverty guidelines ($2,297 per month for a family of four in most places). Gross income includes all cash payments to the household, with a few exceptions specified in the law or the program regulations.
  
• Net monthly income must be 100 percent or less of the Federal poverty guidelines ($1,767 per month for a family of four in most places). Net income is figured by adding all of a household's gross income, and then taking a number of approved deductions for child care, some shelter costs and other expenses. Households with an elderly or disabled member are subject only to the net income test.
  
• Most able-bodied adult applicants must meet certain work requirements.
  
• All household members must provide a Social Security number or apply for one, if they wish to receive benefits.
  
• Federal poverty guidelines are established by the Office of Management and Budget and are updated annually by the Department of Health and Human Services
  

American Poverty:

 

The official poverty measure is published by the United States Census Bureau and shows that:

• In 2010, 46.9 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 -- the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty . This is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty rates have been published (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 14).
  
• The 2010 poverty rate was 15.1 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 1997. This is the highest poverty rate since 1993, but 7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for poverty estimates. (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 14).
  
• The 2010 poverty rate for Hispanics was 26.6 percent, for Blacks 27.4 percent.
  
• In 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent. (DeNavas-Walt 2010 p. 14).
  
• 20.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty. This means their family’s cash income is less than half of the poverty line, or about $10,000 a year for a family of four (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 19).
  
• 49.9 million people or 16.3 percent of the American people, do not have medical insurance (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 23).
  

Nafta was early 90's though. I'll have to go check it out but I remember huge losses in the 90's and it may have been in the 80's also.

 

It was passed in the Clinton presidency but it did not have the effects immediately. Trust me, I'm sitting in an area that has led VA in unemployment for 12 years. All those thousands of jobs are now in China, Vietnam and "South of the Border." Whole communities that built their entire economy on mills and manufacturing now have thousands of people whose skills are overseas.

-- 47% of beneficiaries are children under age 18.

 

I saw that too. Wow. Just wow.

It was passed in the Clinton presidency but it did not have the effects immediately. Trust me, I'm sitting in an area that has led VA in unemployment for 12 years. All those thousands of jobs are now in China, Vietnam and "South of the Border." Whole communities that built their entire economy on mills and manufacturing now have thousands of people whose skills are overseas.

 

It was passed January of 94. What would NAFTA have to do with jobs going to Asia? Have we had that many jobs move to Mexico? I haven't heard much about that. I would think that would be kind of risky for a company.

 

It's obvious the job loss accelerated after 1999, I just don't know how much was NAFTA related.

I saw that too. Wow. Just wow.

 

I wonder if this one surprised anyone?

 

-- 36% were white (non-Hispanic), 22% were African American (non-Hispanic) and 10% were Hispanic

-- 36% were white (non-Hispanic), 22% were African American (non-Hispanic) and 10% were Hispanic

 

On a side note, this type of categorization always annoys me. I'm white and Hispanic. There is no box for me to check on similar forms. :irked: