Behind closed doors corporate America is implementing a stealth strategy to consolidate its rule. As Public Citizen’s Executive Director Lori Wallach explains in the new issue of The Nation, the mechanism is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, whose negotiations have been conducted in extreme secrecy and whose essential function seems to be to act as a stealthy delivery mechanism for policies that could not survive public scrutiny. Branded as a “trade deal” by its corporate proponents, the TPP would actually establish new corporate rights to undermine environmental and health laws, offshore millions of American jobs, flood the US with untested food products, and extend the duration of medical patents.

Sign Public Citizen’s petition imploring US Trade Rep Ron Kirk to stop the secrecy and publicly release all TPP proposals. Tell him it’s a simple request and that transparency matters. Then, go to tpp2012.com to find out how you can get more involved. After you’ve made your voice heard, please share this post with your friends, family and Twitter and Facebook communities.

This timely report from the Vancouver Sun shows how even the countries involved in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership are highly skeptical about whether it is a good thing.

With apologies to the Jackson Five, this new music video created by Public Citizen makes clear why the stakes are so high and what we can do about TPP.

 

A weekly guide to meaningful action, this blog connects readers with resources to channel the outrage so many feel after reading about abuses of power and privilege. Far from a comprehensive digest of all worthy groups working on behalf of the social good, Take Action seeks to shine a bright light on one concrete step that Nation readers can take each week. To broaden the conversation, we’ll publish a weekly follow-up post detailing the response and featuring additional campaigns and initiatives that we hope readers will check out. Toward that end, please use the comments field to give us ideas. With your help, we can make real change.