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Jim Hoffa

The unemployment rate will remain high throughout 2011, and our economy will grow sluggishly. Polls will show voters unhappy with the status quo. At the end of 2010, the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, but the underemployment rate is higher at 17 percent, according to the Labor Department.

Another alarming fact: the Social Security Administration reports median wages fell by $253 last year. Half of working Americans earned less than $26,261, which is barely above the national poverty line of $22,050 for a family of four.

The problem is twofold: American companies aren’t making things in America anymore; and American employers aren’t paying their workers enough so they can buy what is being made.

We can fix this. We can restore manufacturing in America and put more money in the pockets of working families.

Congress and President Obama should listen to the voters and reform trade policy. Public sentiment is increasingly opposed to trade deals, according to a recent a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. The poll showed 53 percent of respondents said free trade agreements hurt the U.S., up from 46 percent in 2007.

President Obama can hold China accountable for breaking the rules of international trade. I commend him for investigating the U.S. Steelworkers complaint that China is unfairly subsidizing its renewable energy sector.

Congress can pass the TRADE Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. The TRADE Act requires that workers' rights be protected and that citizens' rights take precedence over foreign investors' rights. The TRADE Act would also prevent future trade deals from forbidding Buy American policies.

Only by fixing our trade policy can we put America back on the track of robust economic growth.