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> Free trade has overextended itself and people now want less stuff and more meaning. That's why they came out in droves for Trump I absolutely love your argum

> Free trade has overextended itself and people now want less stuff and more meaning. That's why they came out in droves for Trump I absolutely love your argument about less stuff and more meaning, and this issue of better jobs for the working class is one I would have loved to see realistically debated during the election (JD Vance briefly mentioned it, but there wasn't really serious debate about issues and policies). But the idea that this is why people came out for Trump seems just not true. People mostly seemed to come out for the opposite reason, that they felt financially squeezed by inflation. I think a larger story about bringing manufacturing back for meaning is interesting, but not at the forefront of voters minds. "Exit polls on Tuesday showed a stark partisan divide. Some two-thirds (67%) of voters said the condition of the economy was “not good/poor,” and only 32% thought the economy was “excellent/good." https://fortune.com/2024/11/06/trump-harris-economy-voters-hispanic-prices-consumers-election-negative/ https://fortune.com/2024/11/06/trump-harris-economy-voters-h...

taylodl 2y ago
People want good-paying jobs. They also want the items they purchase to be low cost. These desires are mutually exclusive. I honestly don't know what to tell these people. They're absolutely clueless as to how markets work.
- JumpinJack_Cash 2y ago
  Not mutually exclusive. The basic necessities such as food, staples etc. could receive a free pass on import, but does the US really need to import a Mercedes S-Klasse or the humongous amount of screens that are in every US household and they are all produced in Asia? You know what I mean...I am talking about the dude stuff, dudes are feeling aimless and unimportant because all the dude stuff is being produced elsewhere
  - taylodl 2y ago
    Let me clue you in on a little-discussed fact about American manufacturing: it's highly automated and has been for the past 30 years. I should know, I worked for a company that was a market leader in automating manufacturing. You can bring manufacturing back to America all you want, you're not bringing back jobs. You also aren't have any trading partners. Sorry dude. That era is over. It's as futile to bring back as trying to bring back chain mail to modern warfare.
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    > .I am talking about the dude stuff, dudes are feeling aimless and unimportant because all the dude stuff is being produced elsewhere I mean, in that case consider investigating in state-funded psychotherapy or something? Like, an LCD factory isn't going to make a difference to anyone's psychological state (and, tbh, wouldn't provide many jobs; it's not particularly labour-intensive).

taylodl 2y ago

People want good-paying jobs. They also want the items they purchase to be low cost. These desires are mutually exclusive. I honestly don't know what to tell these people. They're absolutely clueless as to how markets work.

JumpinJack_Cash 2y ago
Not mutually exclusive. The basic necessities such as food, staples etc. could receive a free pass on import, but does the US really need to import a Mercedes S-Klasse or the humongous amount of screens that are in every US household and they are all produced in Asia? You know what I mean...I am talking about the dude stuff, dudes are feeling aimless and unimportant because all the dude stuff is being produced elsewhere
- taylodl 2y ago
  Let me clue you in on a little-discussed fact about American manufacturing: it's highly automated and has been for the past 30 years. I should know, I worked for a company that was a market leader in automating manufacturing. You can bring manufacturing back to America all you want, you're not bringing back jobs. You also aren't have any trading partners. Sorry dude. That era is over. It's as futile to bring back as trying to bring back chain mail to modern warfare.
- rsynnott 2y ago
  > .I am talking about the dude stuff, dudes are feeling aimless and unimportant because all the dude stuff is being produced elsewhere I mean, in that case consider investigating in state-funded psychotherapy or something? Like, an LCD factory isn't going to make a difference to anyone's psychological state (and, tbh, wouldn't provide many jobs; it's not particularly labour-intensive).