America Can't Withstand Econ. Shock That’s Coming

When the Bulova watch factory in Providence, R.I., closed in the 1980s, my father faced an abrupt end to his 30-year career. Like many American manufacturers, Bulova moved its production overseas, chasing the cheaper labor that new free-trade agreements made so hard to resist. At 56, my father was a casualty of a new economic rulebook stapled to an old work force model. There were no effective public or private initiatives to help him or millions of other Americans transition to new jobs in the new economy, leaving many American cities hollowed out and helping produce the politics of division that plague us today. Read Full Article »