The United States’ growing turn toward protectionism isn’t just about trade deficits or manufacturing jobs – instead, it’s about political avoidance, says economist Richard Baldwin.
What Happened: On Tuesday, while speaking on The Big View podcast by Reuters, Baldwin argued that America’s middle-class struggles have less to do with globalization and more to do with a chronic failure to provide adequate social policy.
“The American middle class really is suffering and has for decades,” Baldwin said. But unlike other advanced economies with universal healthcare, old-age pensions, or student debt relief, the U.S. hasn’t implemented the policies needed to cushion economic shocks.
“To fix that, you need a social policy. And to do that, you’d have to raise taxes and have a bigger government,” he said.
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