Sorry Tom - it's not that flat

The Democrats have been opposed to what is called "Free Trade" and were joined by a few Republicans like Pat Buchanan. Free trade is only free for multinational corporations. I discussed the surcharge we pay on every item we buy from China in The real cost of a cheap toaster. In brief the post concerns the negative impact of pollution from China on the west coast of the United States. There is also an economic and political impact. Here in the United States we have seen the rich get much richer while the once great middle class got poor and the poor got poorer. What free trade has done is create a global feudalism where the wealth and power is increasingly concentrated at the very top and most people are little more than indentured servants. Well it would appear that even a majority of Republicans are seeing the negative impacts of free trade.
Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade

WASHINGTON -- By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.

The sign of broadening resistance to globalization came in a new Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll that showed a fraying of Republican Party orthodoxy on the economy. While 60% of respondents said they want the next president and Congress to continue cutting taxes, 32% said it's time for some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to reduce the budget deficit and pay for health care.

Six in 10 Republicans in the poll agreed with a statement that free trade has been bad for the U.S. and said they would agree with a Republican candidate who favored tougher regulations to limit foreign imports. That represents a challenge for Republican candidates who generally echo Mr. Bush's calls for continued trade expansion, and reflects a substantial shift in sentiment from eight years ago.

"It's a lot harder to sell the free-trade message to Republicans," said Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who conducts the Journal/NBC poll with Democratic counterpart Peter Hart. The poll comes ahead of the Oct. 9 Republican presidential debate in Michigan sponsored by the Journal and the CNBC and MSNBC television networks.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out not only with the Republican candidates but with the Democrats. Bill Clinton was a big fan of free trade - how will Hillary react?

Thomas Friedman may be about to find out the world is not as flat as he thought it was.