2016 Postmortem

And I think Hillary didn't raise it because she saw the logical pitfalls:

The EU has moved from a trade deficit to a surplus and is still losing manufacturing jobs.
China has a massive trade surplus and losing manufacturing jobs.

Since our manufacturing output is high, and job availability in the manufacturing sector is shrinking, the trade deficit has very little to do with it - yes we have experienced outsourcing but manufacturing jobs world wide- regardless of the presence of a deficit or surplus - are shrinking. The shrinkage is at a lesser pace in places where Unions are strong -. Lost in the debate is that we actually have a large service trade surplus - in excess of 200 billion a year - but we only talk about our trade deficit re goods which skews the debate and is misleading.

What I want our Politicians to do is come up with real solutions: We have to compete globally, and be ahead of the game which requires reform in our education system to compete optimally with a focus on R&D, business and advanced manufacturing - we don't need to neglect the humanities. Also important is creating alternative paths to prosperity - where a degree is not a necessiity and most importantly to my mind - we need to start the conversation about implementing a supplemental income - UBI (Universal Basic Income) : this doesn't have to result in a cut or shrinkage of the social safety net. So our focus needs to be growth, not the trade deficit.

Orange Man's arguments were talking points designed to push buttons , most of which - if we go by his business practices - ,he doesn't believe.