and if you DON’T save them, we’ll have Great Depression redux. Except this time, due to the globalized economy, the Saudis and the Chinese will just buy up all our assets. We’re kind of screwed either way.
That’s the thing about the “free market” as idealized by Milton Friedman: it doesn’t respect national boundaries or borders.
We’ve all been so worried, and rightly so, about Communist/Socialist one world government that didn’t respect American sovereignty, that we forgot about the possibility of one-world government by global markets that don’t respect American sovreignty, either.
But, of course, whether we want to believe in the market or not, the effects are there...and unfortunately, most Americans want to put their heads in the sand and pretend that they have some God-given right to be prosperous and get paid more than others.
Problem is, you can't charge $100 for a widget when there's someone next door selling for less, and you can't sell an hour of your time when there's someone with equal qualifications willing to take less in salary (and benefits, including OSHA, etc.)