Back in the early 1990’s, Congress was considering the proposed North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA).  A steady stream of economists testified in many different hearings before Congress on the benefit of globalization in general and the principle of comparative advantage in particular.

However, virtually every single one cautioned there will always be “winners & losers” to any major government action, but the benefits of globalization greatly exceeded the costs.  That was true, unless you were one of the losers.  The government promised to  provide for retraining (they called it re-skilling back then), as well as relocating those who needed it.  Of course, there was only token retraining and zero relocations. 

You may notice that the areas hit hardest by globalization are the most loyal Trump supporters.  In addition, being relatively unskilled and living in more remote areas, they feel the most threatened by immigration, which reinforces their support for Trump.

Thus, the failure of government to heed the warnings of economists over thirty years ago lead to the election of President Trump. 

The lesson is:  Listen to economists!!