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Originally Posted by demonrail666

I agree, but (in reference to your earlier point) the problem is that Sanders has allowed himself to become welded to a set of civic positions that could well alienate him from so many of the same people who might otherwise be tempted by his economics. Should they eventually face each other in a debate, Trump won't need to argue against Sanders economics, when all he has to do is continually probe him on his plans for things like border-security.

sanders doesn’t have unreasonable border plans.he wants secure borders and permanent residency instead of abusive temporary worker visas. which is good for the local labor force.

although, in fairness, a welfare state might attract more border jumpers. and trade reductions would remove incentives for border crossers to stay at home due to reduced economic opportunity.

i don’t think nafta was a failure because it increased trade. the failure here was one aspect of it: of education and worker retraining.

the requirements to apply for worker retraining were mega-bureaucratic. you had to prove that your business had been affected etc etc. a day late and a dollar short after you had been affected. pure bullshit. workers were left at the mercy of their luck.

it should have been free community college for all who applied and more coordination between industry and education, which has proven successful where it has happened.

even during the great recession there were millions of unfilled jobs due to lack of training. and help with relocation would have been great. we’re still at it: not enough skilled labor.

meanwhile, the middle class in mexico has grown significantly and mexican immigration has diminished as a result of nafta. trade did not bring untold suffering to them as bernie’s article suggested. where there was a problem with hunger, now they suffer from obesity. first world problems!

the bulk of border jumpers are now coming from devastated regions beyond mexico, e.g. honduras.

and a little trade would help honduras, which is a country with old ties to new orleans, a major caribbean port. honduran workers rebuilt new orleans after katrina btw.

the future of the americas is one of economic integration. it’s been happening since the pleistocene, it was very much present at the foundation of the united states, and it will continue to happen into the future. it just needs to be done the right way.