Mr. Murphy: Good afternoon. I just read the Yonkers Times opinion piece by Frank Spotorno and I felt compelled to respond.
Mr. Spotorno seemed to be particularly concerned with US dealings with China. I think that is a fair point but I am baffled by his lack of self (United States) reflection in discussing his gripes. He starts by mentioning jobs “lost overseas and especially to China.” Is he not aware that this is how capitalism works? The very foundation of America is wholly propped up by the exploitation of labor for capital gain. Corporations are out for profit and moving factories to China where labor is orders of magnitude less costly than in the US makes for larger profit margins. Corporations then turn around and lobby with the money they make for less restrictions, less oversight and even more profit. For me, the argument isn’t about China so much as it is about the nature of Capitalism and its role in this country.
He then says that “we can all agree that President Trump was the first President to stand up to China.” No, I do not agree. Inciting a fruitless trade war with China is a misdirection. As just covered in the Financial Times, corporations are IGNORING Trump and have absolutely no plans of moving factories and jobs back to the US. There is also a great piece on Netflix called History 101. In episode 3, they discuss the rise of China as a global superpower and it seems to me that Trump wants to BE China. They produce just about everything, have an authoritarian government with a wildly capitalistic economy, and are on course to surpass the US in the next 5 to 10 years at the rate that their economic power is growing. US corporate greed made its bed a long long time ago and, as usual, they are now trying to make the problem somebody else’s fault.
“Whataboutism” has always been a thing but now we have this funny word for it and a much lower tolerance for it. Mr. Spotorno says, if you want a Green New Deal; what about China and their pollution for the sake of capitalism? Man, you can’t be serious! Classic whataboutism with no grounding in reality. Oil spills, pipeline leaks, lead water, lead paint, asbestos, overuse of plastic, smog, beef, etc. We could go on and on about the environmental impact that American culture has on the health and wellness of its citizens and the global impact on climate change. Again, do we really need to explain how corporations lobby so that they can, as Mr. Spotorno put it, “pollute at all costs to benefit their economy?” We are in no position to be pointing the finger at China.
If you support Trump, that’s fine. Different strokes for different folks. However, don’t try to pretend that you have some sort of moral high ground to stand on. The real markers are policy and legislation.
Sincerely,
Rox Fontaine, Yonkers
