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> I think the aim should be less about making the rich poor and more about making the poor rich

I agree in principle, but reducing immigration and restricting free trade aren't policies that make the poor rich; they're policies that benefit those in possession of scarce resources at a cost to the rest of society.

Take steel tariffs for instance. They benefit the steelworkers, at the cost of every domestic industry that consumes steel. The entire economy pays to support an otherwise unprofitable industry.

Reducing immigration won't magically increase the supply of skilled workers. There aren't masses of unskilled poor who aren't going to college due to immigration putting downwards pressure on skilled wages. They aren't going to college because they lack the resources and opportunity.




I think it's a trade-off. Tariffs and the like will make us less efficient as a whole, but will shift money back towards labor. Right now I think we're tilted too far towards efficiency which is leading to wealth accreting in the hands of a wealthy fortunate few owning massively successful companies.


Iā€™m pro trade and pro immigration, but the argument on the other side is if you open up both, labor in the US now has to compete on a global arena rather than being somewhat protected via isolationist policies.




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