Maybe nothing.
Except this: we don't know what's in it.
William Finnegan, writing in the New Yorker, reminds us that "substantive objections to the T.P.P. have emerged from senators and representatives, who are now allowed, under strictly controlled conditions—in a guarded basement room under the Capitol, with no note-taking—to read drafts of the eight-hundred-page agreement."
That's creepy. Bits and pieces have been seen, enough to worry plenty of people. But mostly, enforced ignorance tends to be the greatest problem.
Maybe it’s a better agreement—better for the American middle class, for American workers—than it seems in the leaked drafts, where it appears bent to the will of multinational corporations. John Kerry, the Secretary of State, and Ashton Carter, the Secretary of Defense, co-authored a column on Monday in USA Today arguing, in evangelical tones, that the T.P.P. will usher in a glorious new era of American-led prosperity, a “global race to the top” for all parties. Meanwhile, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. sees only a race to the bottom. Organized labor, by all accounts, plans to punish any elected Democrat who supports the T.P.P., or even supports fast-track for Obama, in the next campaign. It’s difficult, again, to evaluate the agreement when we can’t see it. And it will be difficult for Congress to do its job if its members can’t study each part of the many-tentacled T.P.P. on its merits, but must simply vote yes or no on the whole shebang. What’s the rush? Is it simply Obama’s wish to make his mark on history and to complete his pivot toward Asia before his time is up? Politicians are often accused of supporting pro-corporate policies to please wealthy backers, looking toward the next campaign. That can’t be Obama’s motive now. ...Finnegan,NewYorker
Oh, no? I wish my retirement fund had wealthy backers!
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But beyond all the argy-bargy about the TPP is the more salient message about who gets to know important stuff and who doesn't. Or, put another way, who is allowed to share the power of information and who isn't.
