In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, America produced everything in the world. As a result, there were plenty of jobs and workers could hold onto those jobs for twenty or thirty years. Only one parent had to work in the family during this time. As a nation that believes in free markets, we were happy to engage in international trade.
Then, primarily as a result of cheap transportation costs and high American labor costs, international trade began to play a much bigger role around the world and American companies began moving their production overseas. Now, where are those jobs? Have you benefited from international trade and would you like to see America continue to engage in international trade even more so than we do today, or would you rather see America greatly reduce the extent to which it engages in international trade, hoping that those old jobs will come back?
Well, think about it. Back then a worker would have to work maybe 8 hours to be able to afford a nice dress shirt. Today, however, that worker is employed at a Walmart, but maybe only has to work 4 hours to afford the same dress shirt.
So, the question is, are you in favor of America continuing to open our borders to international trade, or would you rather see America curtail its open trade policy in the hopes that jobs will come back to America.
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. This is just your opinion, but you need to bring in material from the chapters. Write at least 6 paragraphs.