How to Tell If [sic] You Are a Modern Progressive
8th April 2016
Have you ever wondered if you are a progressive? I’ve come up with a two-part test. If you believe in both of the following propositions, then you qualify as a American progressive, circa 2016:
Proposition #1: Free trade with low wage countries like Mexico steals lots of jobs from American workers. There is no way a Mexican-American worker paid $7.25/hour in El Paso can compete with an actual Mexican worker making $3.50/hour in Cuidad Juarez. NAFTA led to a giant sucking sound of jobs flowing south across the Rio Grande.
Proposition #2: Free trade between Texas and California does not cost jobs. A Mexican-American worker making $15 hour in Fresno can easily compete with a Mexican-American worker making $7.25/hour in El Paso, because there are studies “proving” that lower minimum wages in one state do not steal jobs from neighboring states.In other words, trade steals jobs when it occurs across international boundaries, but not when it occurs across domestic boundaries.