The Washington Post told readers that the American public: "is increasingly blaming the open U.S. trade policies of the past as part of the toxic mix at the root of the nation's economic problems." The article could have saved a word (don't reporters complain about space limitations) and been more accurate by leaving out the word "open." If the country had more open trade, highly paid professionals like doctors and lawyers would be subject to greater international competition, which would increase growth and lead to higher real incomes for workers at the middle and bottom of the income ladder. The same would be true if protections for copyrights and patents were weakened or eliminated. The current pattern of trade is detrimental to most workers. It is not "open."
--Dean Baker
