Lynn Rudmin Chong: Presidents have turned their backs on fair trade but its time

To The Daily Sun,

Lots of Scrabble games now by phone with a friend in Florida. In my old game's lid, I glued (when game was new) this article about Scrabble letters. The article is dated January 13, 1999. A Hasbro spokesman said, "The Bauhinia Limited Co. of Hong Kong is (now) making the wooden tiles and tile racks at its plant in Shanghai." Also, "For 20 years, Milton Bradley Wood Products, Inc., in Fairfax, VT, produced tiles and trays. Hasbro closed the plant Dec. 4, costing 87 people their jobs." Closing that VT plant and five others would save $350 million before taxes within five years.

In 1998 Bill Clinton was president. His first run introduced independent H. Ross Perot, accurately predicting, "the sucking sound of jobs leaving the country" with the hyped Free Trade Agreements." Clinton signed our first Free Trade Agreement. Environmental protections and labor protections were excluded. Companies reaped big, bigger, biggest profits, going overseas. Pres. G. W. Bush came along, then President Obama. No curbing free trade agreements. Once, early in Obama's tenure, I believed I'd see our first fair trade agreement. We had Fair Trade coffee and Fair Trade chocolate. No. Obama continued with free trade agreements.

After this coronavirus is contained, receding, then over, how should goods/production be revamped? What jobs will best serve? Our planet's needs must be considered along with economic needs for people's lives. Who counts? Everyone should count, no matter race or wealth or hemisphere. Our next election must provide national leadership both intelligent and thoughtful.

Lynn Rudmin Chong

Sanbornton