NAFTA

'Class' Defined By Many Factors
George, there are a lot of factors that determine a person's economic standing.

Specific dollar amounts alone cannot determine an individual's or a family's economic stature. For example, a family of four making $50,000 a year in a small town with a low cost of living may be living very comfortably. While a family of four making the same income in Los Angeles would have difficulty making ends meet. The size of the family also plays an important role in the standard of living. A single person living on $35,000 a year in a small to medium sized city would likely not have many financial worries. A family with six children living in the same community would barely survive on that income.

I come from a family of eleven and I have experienced a wide range of economic circumstances in my lifetime. I understand and am deeply troubled by the economic difficulty facing American families. That is why I am running for President. Many parents have to work two or three jobs just to maintain the standard of living they experienced on one job only fifteen years ago. With NAFTA, GATT and the dumping of foreign goods on the U.S. market, we have seen the American industrial base -- which has for decades provided living wages to American families -- erode and move overseas. In this time of prosperity, Americans are working more hours for less money. The economy and the tax code have forced parents to choose work over family and our children are paying the price. I believe we must have real tax reform and renegotiate our trade agreements to benefit the American workers -- not just big business and global corporations.