Americans have been told that globalization was the key to prosperity. And yes, today we have wondrous cheap smartphones and all manner of goods made overseas.
But if you ever visit the Rust Belt, you'll quickly realize that entire local and regional economies have been shattered by the decline of US manufacturing and haven't yet recovered.
Donald Trump won the election in part by recognizing and promising to address this economic problem. This move is an attempt to do exactly that: Fix things by reversing the free trade policies that got us into this mess.
Almost everyone here seems united in saying that this attempt by Trump to cure our economic problems will only make the situation worse.
If you were the PoTuS, you want to help the Rust Belt become economically viable again, and you have both houses of Congress and the American people behind you, what would you do?
Bashing Trump's solution is all well and good, but what's the alternative? Do nothing and let the American heartland's economy rot for another 30 years?
>If you were the PoTuS, you want to help the Rust Belt, and you have both houses of Congress and the American people behind you, what would you do?
I wouldn't lie and tell people we can force the world to give a damn about American cars like it was the 1950s all over again, because the world has moved on from that economy, and thanks to automation, even if we brought the factories back, there would be few if any jobs for human beings. We can't look back, we have to look forward, and prepare for the actual future. The coal mines aren't going to open, the days of lifetime employment at the steel mill or auto plant, two cars in every garage and a chicken in every pot are dead.
Beyond that, I don't know. It's a complex problem, but failing to recognize complexity, as the President seems to, doesn't actually make it simpler.
But if you ever visit the Rust Belt, you'll quickly realize that entire local and regional economies have been shattered by the decline of US manufacturing and haven't yet recovered.
Donald Trump won the election in part by recognizing and promising to address this economic problem. This move is an attempt to do exactly that: Fix things by reversing the free trade policies that got us into this mess.
Almost everyone here seems united in saying that this attempt by Trump to cure our economic problems will only make the situation worse.
If you were the PoTuS, you want to help the Rust Belt become economically viable again, and you have both houses of Congress and the American people behind you, what would you do?
Bashing Trump's solution is all well and good, but what's the alternative? Do nothing and let the American heartland's economy rot for another 30 years?