State Sen. Richard Romero said globalization isn't necessarily a bad term.
Romero, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. District I House seat, spoke to a crowd of about 30 at the Center for Peace and Justice on Monday night.
"A lot of us like to blame globalization, but really it's the economic policies of the past few years," Romero said.
He blamed war, corporate welfare and job outsourcing.
It's becoming clear the North American Fair Trade Agreement is not all it should be, he said.
"Since NAFTA was implemented, hundreds and thousands
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of jobs are sent overseas," Romero said.
Congress and the Kerry campaign need to address jobs going to other countries, Romero said.
"Companies and corporations who send jobs overseas should lose the ability to take advantage of business-friendly tax breaks," Romero said.
He said funding to honey, wool, mohair and sheep businesses, as well as funding for ships, should be eliminated, adding this would save $1.6 billion for farmers.
"Some programs are designed to stimulate work in those areas, but at some point we need to wean them off," Romero said.
The speech ran about 20 minutes before Romero opened it up for questions.
He was asked how he compared to Rep. Heather Wilson, his opponent in the upcoming election.
"She's a great soldier," Romero said. "She has no independence and she will support the Republican agenda."
He added incumbents are hard to beat, especially in a very Republican district.
"It's a different climate these days," Romero said.
He said he was confident he'll win because he has a good stance on the issues. He said he's trying to get more Democrats to vote.
"This is the most important election of our lifetime," Romero said.
Denise Ames, who works for the Center for Global Awareness, an affiliate of the Center for Peace and Justice on Harvard Drive, invited Romero to speak.
"We wanted to hear his position on issues," Ames said.
She said the turnout was average and also said Romero has a progressive stance.
"I agreed with most of his positions, but he didn't really address some very well," Ames said.
She said if Romero hadn't seemed so rushed, she would have liked to ask more questions.
Junior Jerome Chavez went to the event because he wanted to get Romero's stance on the issues clarified to decide whether to vote for him.
"It's good he wants to reach out to as many people as possible," Chavez said. "He's reaching out to this community and realizes we are a factor in this election."
