re: #278 KGxvi

I feel like, when I was in high school and college in the 90s, the thinking was our economy was changing from manufacturing to service. That was a big reason behind the push that everyone should go to college, because the workplace was changing. But then there was the inevitable pushback, about how college isn’t for everyone (which, fine, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to adapt to the new economic landscape), and that turned into “what about blue collar jobs?” We knew about globalization and automation for 25 years, and it remains as true today as it was then: the best way forward is more and better education.

With respect to consolidation and monopolies, the only answer is to dust off the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. It’ll be good for the economy, and it’s an easy sell: we all have smartphones because we broke up AT&T in the 80s. That’s what competition does, it moves the economy forward, it’s good for the workers, which is good for the consumers, which is good for business.

To be honest, I used to be something of a protectionist on trade but I saw how bad for the economy as a whole. I certainly do feel bad for those workers who have lost jobs due to NAFTA and other trade deals but at the same time, economies transition. Of course, we don’t ignore them but we don’t do Trump’s idiotic ideas about trade and domestic jobs either. Clinton had the right ideas about these issue but no one left and right was really listening to her. They just wanted the empty bullshit Sanders and Trump promised.