So James Stuber tells us in the introduction to his
timely and provocative new book, What if Things Were Made in America Again: How Consumers Can Rebuild the Middle Class by Buying Things Made in American Communities (Current Affairs
Stuber invites us on the journey to learn “what is really going on”
with trade, globalization, and the U.S. and world economies. We go to some surprising places. . . .
- To the Chinese “factory labor camp”
making smart phones, with nets to prevent more workers from committing suicide by jumping off the roof.
- To the Illinois steel mill, dealing
with the suicide of one of its workers, because the mill was shut down when China started dumping its overproduction of steel on the U.S. market.
We learn how –
- The U.S. gave whole industries away
pursuing unilateral free trade and fighting communism.
- Trade morphed into globalization,
three billion people joined the world economy, creating the “age of oversupply,” and China changed everything by adopting just enough capitalism to become the “world’s workshop,” to the detriment of
developed and developing countries alike.
- We are caught up in the “Big
Squeeze” of the global low-price, low wage economy, with every nation, including the U.S., competing to win over transnational companies shopping the world for low wages and
Exploding myths of a “win-win” from free trade, Stuber shows how
- All this resulted in six million
lost manufacturing jobs and lower wages for most Americans, outweighing any gains from lower prices of the foreign goods.
- These lost jobs destroyed lives,
families, and communities, while our political and intellectual elites told us how good this was for everyone.
- The future holds more jobs lost to
Mexico, China, and India, as white-collar and professional jobs are being swept offshore along with manufacturing, threatening our children’s future.
Stuber challenges us to consider the moral and practical implications
of all this, and asks, “who will stand up for the ordinary American?”
Most importantly, we learn how consumers solve the problem, without
asking anyone for permission, by buying things made in American communities.
To arrange an interview call (610) 608-5074 or email email@example.com. For
further information, visit www.themadeinamericabook.com.