Over the years there has been a trend from protectionism to free and open markets, back to protectionism. Part of the problem I feel is people do not understand the effects of free trade on developed nations.
Free trade only creates job in poor nations, while rich developed nations are robbed of their factories, and middle class. There was once a time when a young man could finish high school, go to work in a factory, buy a home and support a family. Today it takes both adults working just to stay in the middle class.
What changed? What robbed the United States and the middle class? Free trade, that's what.
The next question we should ask, why did our nation give the factories to China? I think it boils do to short term thinking and greed. Companies realized they could save a ton of money by exploiting cheap labor, so they did. The end result was the destruction of the blue collar middle class, and China having easy access to technology.
Free trade only creates job in poor nations, while rich developed nations are robbed of their factories, and middle class. There was once a time when a young man could finish high school, go to work in a factory, buy a home and support a family. Today it takes both adults working just to stay in the middle class.
What changed? What robbed the United States and the middle class? Free trade, that's what.
The next question we should ask, why did our nation give the factories to China? I think it boils do to short term thinking and greed. Companies realized they could save a ton of money by exploiting cheap labor, so they did. The end result was the destruction of the blue collar middle class, and China having easy access to technology.
