Trump’s Economic Policy Can’t Be Just Nostalgia
Even if the US could somehow bring back the manufacturing economy of half a century ago, it wouldn’t be an improvement.
Caught in the middle.
Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg
President-elect Donald Trump’s economic legacy may well depend on whether he prefers the comparative form of an adjective. Specifically, does he believe it is it hard to make a living in the US — or harder than it used to be?
It is not an insignificant distinction. The central conceit of economic populism, dominating both the left and the right, is that things used to be better. This is a misdiagnosis. Making your way in an uncertain world and a constantly changing economy has always been hard — and always will be. But things are not harder than they used to be; in many ways they’re getting easier.