Quote from Mav88:
I agree, rational self interest is the primary driver here.
Trade is predicated on the law of comparative advantage and works great in many cases. However the average worker in the US no longer has a comparative advantage over a foreign worker and so trade now has all these bad side effects. Why economists can't seem to understand this simple fact is beyond me, and why they think we owe India a living is baffling as well.
Academics will tell you that our wages were 'artifically high'...
Economists are driven by the people in power and money. They do as they are told. Nobody in power and money can be expected to vote in the best interests of those not in their camp, like gnome said earlier.
