Since POTUS is busy lying about NAFTA costing the US "thousands of businesses and millions of jobs," I'd like to remind everyone the real cause of manufacturing job loss is automation, not trade. Harder to demagogue, but ultimately a bigger problem. Check out this graph: 1/x
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Red: Manufacturing output Blue: Manufacturing employment Starting 1994, after NAFTA enacted. Output rises, employment shrinks. America's producing more than ever. But we're increasingly doing it with robots, rather than people. 2/xpic.twitter.com/4k3UP4vOK9
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Zoom in on 1990s, from the start of NAFTA through the early 2000s recession (1994-2001). Manufacturing employment (blue) increases slightly, while manufacturing output (red) rises sharply. If NAFTA killed businesses and jobs, both of those would've gone down. 3/xpic.twitter.com/42HrQmAubn
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Output rising while employment stays the same or decreases indicates increasing productivity, primarily due to robots. Trade isn't irrelevant. But about 88% of US manufacturing job losses in the 21st century come from automation, not trade. 4/x
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Red (output) and blue (employment) both drop during recessions (shaded areas). Notice how red bounces back, but blue stays low? That's mostly businesses firing people during recessions and replacing them with robots, rather than rehiring them or refilling their positions. 5/xpic.twitter.com/hYx1vaLqy7
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Automation is a long-term socioeconomic problem, with robots taking an increasing number of better-paying jobs. But robots are hard to scapegoat. Foreigners aren't. And no one prioritizes scapegoating foreigners over long-term economic development more than the president. (END)
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Replying to @NGrossman81
Nevermind the simple fact that consumer demand has also played a part in driving trade policies anyway making NONE of it the absolute result of "oh well, I guess we got stuck with bad trade deals".
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Like our trade deficit "problem" (that's not actually a problem). Americans could choose to stop buying foreign-made goods tomorrow. But we don't want to.
(And why should we when it comes to things that are cheaper and better?)
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