Jim Fernandes: If I have a job here in the US, I would rather spend $10 more for a pair of jeans produced locally, than to supposedly save $10 on Mexican imports. What good is that cheap pair of jeans to me if my job itself has been exported to Mexico?
Response: Economists inform us that 'maximum utility of money' makes sound economics. That is why goods are produced where the cost of production are cheapest and sold where it can maximise the value. This is the reason for world trade. Otherwise everyone would produce for their own consumption like India and China did for decades at great cost to their own economy. Automation would not have taken place had nationalism prevailed. If there are job losses due to cheaper goods available from outside, the solution is not to bar the entry of such goods but to make them more competitive. For example, Indian pharma companies sell products in USA at 1/10 the cost of products manufactured locally thus benefitting US citizens and the country which would otherwise have to spend on high health bills. Similarly software companies are able to make huge profits by outsourcing, thus benefitting their shareholders and the govt who get revenue by way of taxes. Economics is quite a complicated subject and one cannot do justice in such a short space. The reasons for BREXIT or Trump are manifold. In fact immediately after the vote on Brexit, its proponents were flabbergasted with the results. They just could not accept or believe it. All that they wanted to do was express their disapproval with the state of affairs without realising the consequences or repurcussions. The same thing will happen with Trump. The study of history has shown that countries need stable leaders not flashy or flamboyant ones. Any constructive work takes time, labour and effort. Destruction takes only a few seconds. Regards, Marshall