Former U.S. President Donald Trump is absolutely right when he says that the “return of industry to the U.S.” is something most Americans want.
According to a survey conducted last year by the Cato Institute on public opinion regarding the economy and trade, a full 80% of Americans believe that the country would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing. The difference between Republican and Democratic supporters on this issue is almost nonexistent: 88% of Republicans and 74% of Democrats agree with that statement.
However, when asked, “Would I personally be better off working in manufacturing?”—the responses were completely different. Only 25% of Americans answered affirmatively, 73% said no, and 2% already work in manufacturing. The partisan gap here is even smaller: 26% of Republicans and 21% of Democrats said they would accept a manufacturing job.
The Financial Times brought this survey back into focus today and presented it graphically.
The same Cato Institute survey also shows that a majority of Americans have a favorable opinion of international trade (55%) and free trade (53%). On other trade-related topics, however, most respondents are not well informed. For example:
- On trade agreements: 45% positive, 11% negative, and 44% neutral or no opinion.
- On globalization: 34% positive, 24% negative, 41% neutral or no opinion.
- On tariffs: 34% positive, 20% negative, 47% neutral or no opinion.
- On subsidies: 27% positive, 26% negative, 47% neutral or no opinion.
A large portion of the population—roughly half—is not sufficiently informed or educated about crucial public policy issues like trade agreements, globalization, tariffs, and subsidies. People are losing a lot of money simply because of disinterest or a lack of basic education on core economic policy matters.
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