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I'll wonder if Fortune magazine wished they had not commissioned this poll.
* 68% say trade helps others, not us
* 78% believe trade harms our workers
* 55% believe American business has been harmed.
But
get the spin in the article. No mention of the trade deficit, job
loss, the imported food, or manufacturing loss. Its all about
voters "fear" and their "feelings."
We are a nation crawling into a fetal position, cramped by fear
that America has lost control of its destiny in a fiercely competitive
global economy. The fear is mostly about jobs lost overseas and wages
capped by foreign competition.
No mention of currency manipulation.
Especially now, as the U.S. economy sputters, we are on the verge of becoming a country of economic nationalists.
No mention of VAT tariffs.
Fear is a potent force in American politics, and Democratic Party
leaders have astutely tapped into rising voter unease about
globalization.
The article uses the word "fear" four times and "feelings, "feel" or
"felt" four times. "Anxious" or "anxiety" three times.
"Mood" four times.
Metaphors and anecdotes are all
they've got. The reporter, Nina Easton, uses the powerful
metaphors of American's being confident about taking on the world, and
says we no longer do. He does not realize we have unilaterally
disarmed. Other countries apply tariffs and subsidies against us,
bet we do not. Double digit points on the scoreboard for the
other team before the football game starts.
Ms. Easton then has a personal anecdote... she says the Maytag closure is not so bad, in Newton, Iowa.
In the U.S. the newly shuttered Maytag plant in Newton, Iowa,
doubles as an altar to the political spirit of economic nationalism.
... When I visited Newton on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, I
expected a dying town. Instead I found a vibrant community of 16,000
with serene neighborhoods and a bustling downtown.
So Easton sees some shoppers at a Wal-Mart, and her faith in free trade is restored.
This
is the level of thought we are dealing with. It is a mob
mentality of the free traders. Irrational. They cannot see
it is rigged trade, and become very agitated when the rigging is
pointed out.
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