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Health & Fitness

Fair Trade Folly to Return to City Council Again?

If the FTT business model is sound and worthwhile, no government endorsement is needed to convince ever more people of the merits of joining their cause.

It appears that the national Fair Trade political agenda campaign has targeted La Mesa as a prime Southern California location (http://www.fairtradetownsusa.org/) . Earlier, before the October 11 La Mesa City Council meeting, our mayor planned (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/link-up/events-calendar/?id=1969) for weeks with the FTT group in preparation for them to descend on the City Council and generally unaware public.

The plan looked to quietly guilt a council majority into going along with a seemingly harmless resolution. It failed on a 3-2 vote where cautious thought determined it wise to back away from the request.

The FTT group is again (http://fairtradesd.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html  quietly, but zealously, lobbying our elected officials to revisit the issue and grant them the much sought after resolution so the FTT national marking campaigners may use it for their ongoing national efforts.

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We shouldn't be surprised as this is exactly what they said they would do. And we should not be surprised if our mayor assists in the FTT effort given his experience as a former professional corporate lobbyist. Particularly since he referred to opposition as "asinine" and was visibly irritated by the failing vote in October.

As with other formulated proselytizing programs, the proponents will return again, and probably multiple times. Or until they gain the critical mass of converts needed to have an official endorsement of their social justice agenda and satisfy the final specific written directive of their international organization leadership.

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fortunately, last time there were a few citizens who found out about the stealthy workings of the FTT group and objected to the use of La Mesa City policies to suit a special interest group. So while FTT spokespersons now claim to want an open discussion by posting the  occasional op-ed letter here or there, this now just looks like a diversion as they are right now making an end run to our other elected officials with the tried and true, old fashioned, out of public view back door lobbying.

A bad idea, no matter how often requested, is still a bad idea. What a shame that the local FTT group does not live free of the marching orders from on high at FTT central command. If the FTT business model is sound and worthwhile, no government endorsement is needed to convince ever more people of the merits of joining their cause.

But if the FTT principles are untenable, no amount of coercion, large or small, will change the hearts of those they seek to enlist. How interesting that the basic fundamental laws protecting the FTT group's right to petition government also contain the same principle of limited government interference they wish to set aside and use to promote their particular social justice political agenda through preferential policies in a taxpayer funded city resolution!

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