At one time, the US population was engaged in manufacturing goods which were sold domestically and overseas--assuming the overseas purchasers could afford "Made In America" goods.
That was when the US had near-full employment and a standard of living which rose, every year, without fail (but yes, there were recessionary pauses.) And when the phrase quoted at the end of this essay was still observed.
Over the last 20 years or so, the Barons of Industry have found that they can export jobs to other countries and import goods from those countries at a very great profit. This resulted in a lot of US citizens losing their jobs. It also meant the end of the 'growing standard of living' thing; for about the last decade, growth has damn near stopped. Not surprisingly, there is a huge under- or un-employed segment of Americans, by some measures around 10%.
Yes, 10%
So when The Donald proposes to turn the export/import numbers upside down, we find "conservatives" screeching like girls and telling us that the end of the world is nigh.
They are not "conservatives," because actual Conservatives understand that work was made for man, not man for work. Another way to state that: a government does have an obligation to make certain that its citizens can find good employment.
Want another phrasing? How about "...insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty..."
Little, if any, of that comes as a fruit of unemployment.
The US has exported enough of its treasure and has spilt more than its share of blood for other countries. It's payback time. And if Target and WallyWorld don't know how to handle that, oh, well. They'll join Kresge and Schuster's.
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There was also a time, before the 16th Amendment, when the Federal government was largely paid for by tariffs and such. Of course, it was a lot smaller then.
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