New book imagines a more generous, stable local economy

Americans feel conflicted about free trade globally, their opinions splitting mostly along partisan lines. Republicans are more likely to oppose trade and favor tariffs with Democrats supporting the opposite position.

With the rise of former President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), there are now ongoing debates about whether trade benefits Americans — and if it does, what kinds of regulations should be leveraged to protect American workers?

While the Biden administration is attempting to build more at home — with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS Act, and Infrastructure Law — it has not given up on global trade.

A new book explores how global trade has hurt American workers over the past few decades, charting a new path to investing locally while continuing trade activity abroad.

“In the last half century, globalization has created more wealth than ever before at a global level, but within almost every country inequality has also radically increased and that’s because most of the gains have accrued to the small handful of people and companies at the top.” — Rana Foroohar, author

Listen: How globalization has left out workers and why that’s changing.

Guest  

Rana Foroohar is a global business columnist and an associate editor at the Financial Times. Her most recent book is, “Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World.” She says populism and cynicism has risen because corporations have created wealth for a management class that’s excluded workers in those companies.

“In the last half century, globalization has created more wealth than ever before at a global level, but within almost every country inequality has also radically increased and that’s because most of the gains have accrued to the small handful of people and companies at the top,” says Foroohar.