Globalization Shafted U.S. Workers, Robert Reich Argues

Former US labor secretary Robert Reich warned that steep job losses were suffered in the mid-1990s by counties with industries competing with Mexican companies.

Failure to compensate those who lost out due to globalization contributed to the shift in political allegiance in key states, potentially altering the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Writing on his Substack, Reich noted that many of these counties, which had long voted Democratic, shifted towards the GOP in House elections by 2000.

Reich highlighted that more manufacturing jobs were lost after China joined the World Trade Organization and began exporting products to the US, often under US corporate brands.

He explained that college-educated Democrats supported these trade deals as they benefited from a tech-heavy globalized economy.

However, blue-collar workers without college degrees, who preferred to protect their jobs even at the cost of higher prices, felt alienated as the Democratic platform moved against their preference and consequently shifted to the GOP.

Reich emphasized that the failure to compensate those who lost out due to globalization contributed to the shift in political allegiance in key states, potentially altering the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

He argued that while global trade is not inherently good or bad, the way it has been conducted in the US has protected the wealth of those who already have it, while burdening those who do not.