Import taxes

Milton Freedman was one of my favorite economist and he was a strong proponent of free trade. The US has leaned in this direction since WW2 and it has brought benefits but at a cost and the cost has been borne mostly by what used to be called the middle class. In the 50's the middle class was expanding because many of the manufactured goods were produced in the US. Home ownership was rapidly growing and all of the appliances were made in the USA. As the concept of free trade grew companies realized that products could be made overseas at lower cost and these were then imported and middle class consumers were able to buy low priced products. These working people were like the frog in the warm water. As they saw the prices of the goods they purchased going down they didn't realize that the price of their labor was also going down. The manufacturing jobs they once enjoyed were disappearing and the higher wages associated with those jobs disappeared with them. For those with college educations this was good since their wages were not tied to manufacturing and continued to rise but for the others it was wage stagnation and this group has now gone decades without any real increase in pay. There are many reasons why production costs are lower overseas and one of the most important is the lack of environmental controls and no protection for workers. When ever this is brought up it is never mentioned that improving conditions overseas will raise prices on imported goods. One prime example is the mining of rare earth metals. These are the elements needed to produce electronics like cell phones, solar panels and windmills. These mines take a heavy toll on the local environment and the US consumer enjoys the benefits. Leveling the free trade playing field takes more than import taxes, it takes better wages and working conditions for overseas workers but the US has very little control over those factors. One area the US does have influence is taxing imports. That is why trade unions favor import taxes and businesses do not.