If you’ve spent time on social media or watched cable news recently, you’ve almost certainly encountered some of globalization’s staunchest defenders, trotting out their favorite arguments against tariffs.On today’s episode, Mark DiPlacido, American Compass policy advisor, joins Oren to break down the worst of these arguments and share some handy responses for your next important meeting, debate in the office break room, or cocktail party. After spending the past couple weeks on the media circuit, Mark and Oren run through some of their favorites: Should you need a PhD to discuss economics? Does the trade deficit really not matter? These are only the tip of the bad-take iceberg.For more, check out our tariffs symposium, "After Liberation Day."
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45:14
The Global Tariff with Rep. Jared Golden
The congressman who introduced the bill to implement President Trump’s 10% global tariff wasn’t a member of his own party, but a conservative Democrat from a Trump-won district in Maine.Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), the sponsor of the BUILT USA Act, which would set the 10% global rate, joined Oren to talk about why Congress needs to permanently codify the new trade policy. To spur long-term investment in American industry and lift its workers, Golden and Cass agree, requires a policy with more sticking power than an executive order. Congressman Golden also explains his path to championing this issue, why so many of his constituents in Northern Maine support Trump’s recent move, and whether it’s possible for tariffs to become a bipartisan issue once again.
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44:04
Our Manhood Crisis with Amber Lapp
For decades, American men have been in crisis. Globalization has caused millions of jobs to disappear, divorce rates have increased, life expectancy has decreased, and deaths of despair have skyrocketed in many working-class communities.Amber Lapp, research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and stay-at-home mom, began talking to her neighbors in her working-class community in southwestern Ohio over a decade ago to try to get to the bottom of it. She joins Oren to share the real stories of America’s missing men, and discuss why she felt called to leave Manhattan and move to Ohio to better understand working-class life in America. The two dive into the value of getting to know your neighbors in an atomized age and what can be done to begin to reverse this crisis.Further reading:“America's Missing Men” by Amber Lapp
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37:05
After the Factories Left with David Autor
The “China Shock”—triggered by the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization—devastated America’s heartland, causing a sudden exodus of manufacturing jobs and disrupting the communities that depended on them. Promoters of globalization promised “better” jobs would take their place. Nearly 25 years later, has that happened?David Autor, professor of economics at MIT and co-author of the famous “China Shock” paper, joins Oren to talk about the effects of free trade on America’s working class. They also examine Autor’s latest paper, which highlights that the new jobs in the hardest-hit communities often don’t provide the pay or stability that the jobs outsourced by globalization did—and, even worse, that many former workers lack access to these jobs altogether. Plus, they explore the rise of automation in manufacturing and the implications of AI for American workers.Further reading:"Places versus People: The Ins and Outs of Labor Market Adjustment to Globalization" by David Autor, David Dorn, et al. "The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade" by David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson
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45:38
Abundance, Left and Right with Ezra Klein
The “abundance agenda” has taken the policy world by storm recently, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who advocate for prioritizing the supply side and removing barriers to building our productive capacity.This week, Ezra joins Oren to make the case for how the theory could be put into practice. In this wide-ranging conversation, the two explore the sclerosis that has held back blue cities like New York and San Francisco, potential political roadblocks to implementing the agenda, and where conservatives can find common cause with it. Plus, they debate whether the Democratic Party can be the flagship of abundance while prioritizing the climate change movement.
Our mission is to restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity. The American Compass Podcast features conversations on a wide variety of policy issues aimed at helping policymakers and the broader public navigate the most pressing issues that will define the future of the conservative movement in America.
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