Hacker News Reader

Comment by ones_and_zeros | Hacker News Reader

Then someone with a background in Economics should understand the benefits do not accrue evenly. When developed nations trade with developing nations, the middle class of the developed nation loses.

This is partly why the neoliberal playbook the democrats having been running backfired. Sure, open up trade, but ensure that the wealthy people and large corporations don't accrue all of the benefit.

This can be done in a number of ways but none of them were even attempted, it was just good for business == good for america, period.

View on HN

It's not like republicans were going to allow tax increases or redistributive policies to happen, so inevitably we ended up here.

Eh, Bill Clinton passed NAFTA with a smile on his face. He should have demanded:

- 12 months family leave

- shorter work days

- mandatory 6 weeks vacation

- universal health

- etc

And then negotiate from there. But he didn't and the democrats in power at the time didn't. They were too busy patting themselves on the back for figuring out that cozying up to corporate America would allow them to compete with the Republicans.

> When developed nations trade with developing nations, the middle class of the developed nation loses.

The middle class is doing just fine, thank you.

If anything, you could try to make some argument about the poorer part of the population (though even they are not really impacted).

Actually, it isn't. Median income hasn't moved up since the 70s, and as a proportion of wages, it's dropped. When you factor in the increase in part time employment and the drop in full time employment since 2008, plus the cost of the ACA... This is the reason Trump won. Most people aren't happy.

Wikipedia says:

> According to the CBO, between 1979 and 2011, gross median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose from $59,400 to $75,200, or 26.5%. However, once adjusted for household size and looking at taxes from an after-tax perspective, real median household income grew 46%, representing significant growth."

> Another line of analysis, known as "total compensation," presents a more complete picture of real wages. The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a study in 2013 which shows that employer contributions to employee healthcare costs went up 78% from 2003 to 2013. The marketplace has made a trade-off: expanding benefits packages vs. increasing wages.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com