Reply #26: The problem is with US style free trade agreements, not with trade agreements in general.

[Lasher]

The decline in wages, and the increased disparity of wages and wealth, have been influenced by all the US neoliberal policies you mentioned, including deregulation promoted by NAFTA, et al. Your either/or scenario is therefore a false dilemma.

I don't blame foreigners for this. They have no moral obligation to protect the US standard of living. I blame Americans in government, and gullible rightwing followers. And I particularly blame those of the affluent who have been intentionally orchestrating the demise of the US middle class.