“What will not come back, ever, is the standard of living we had before socialism.”
What will not come back, ever, is the standard of living we had before free trade. The experience of the past 20 years proves it.
“...free trade...”
Yawn. Protectionism is stupid. What gives protectionism the appearance of a good thing is the massive tax and regulation burden on domestic production. Without this burden, we could blow away the Chinese. They are manufacturing amateurs compared to the U.S.