“What do people really want?”
You know the answer.... BOTH - good paying jobs (or better yet “free money”) and inexpensive goods.
The great leveling of all the people of the world will continue and it’s unavoidable. There are billions of people all over the world that can build what we used to build, and they’re willing to do it for much less.
Their standard of living will keep going up and ours will go down until the two are more or less in equilibrium, unless you come up with things you can do better (more cost effective) than they can.
And if you decide to impose huge tariffs on them, then get ready for much higher prices... and retaliation, and a lower standard of living.
The west has been fortunate enough to rest on its laurels for a long time. The rest of the world wants to catch up. It’ll be painful in the short run, but good in the long run.
Standard of living is an interesting measure.
By definition, your future is describing a lower standard of living. Standards are:
income
quality and availability of employment
class disparity
poverty rate
quality and affordability of housing (For related reading, see Mortgages: How Much Can You Afford?)
hours of work required to purchase necessities
gross domestic product (GDP) (For more insight, see Don’t Be Misled By Gross National Product.)
inflation rate (See our Inflation tutorial for more.)
number of paid vacation days per year
affordable access to quality health care
quality and availability of education
life expectancy
incidence of disease
cost of goods and services
infrastructure
national economic growth
economic and political stability
political and religious freedom
environmental quality
climate
safety
Increased “Free Trade” has not made necessities cheaper except perhaps clothing. Look at food, healthcare, housing and the ability to pay for those with a falling or stagnant wage.
Most American’s standard of living is going down not up.
Read more: Standard Of Living Vs. Quality Of Life | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/08/standard-of-living-quality-of-life.asp#ixzz3zzdsFrTM