Dawn Allen - February 3, 2017
Think back to 1999. That year, we saw the Senate open impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. Unemployment was 4.2%. And in Seattle, a motley collection of unions, consumer protection groups, labor rights advocates, environmentalists gathered in protest of the WTO. The World Trade Organization, remember, advocated for free trade and globalization. Protesters worried about unemployment, unsafe imports, pollution, and other traditionally liberal fears clashed with cops in riot gear. The police, so beloved by authoritarians, busily defended corporate interests. Corporations that, for their part, gutted the American heartland and sent the jobs overseas. Liberals tried to tell us. Middle America rolled their eyes. Did we listen? Not a chance. Free Trade would make goods cheaper at Wal*Mart. Those protesters were dirty hippies that needed a shower.