Democrats Should Cease Knocking Trump’s Carrier Deal for Their Own Good

Sometimes Democrats just don’t get it. It is as if they have forgotten that politics is the art of persuasion and a politician’s message must first and foremost resonate with the electorate. Democrats are fighting a losing battle by denigrating Donald Trump’s Carrier deal. Carrier has agreed to retain 1,000 jobs in Indiana which they previously announced were moving to Mexico. Bernie Sanders and other Democrats have been decrying Donald Trump’s accomplishment of this deal as both bad policy and bad precedent.

Democrats need to let Donald Trump have his win, as opposition to it is just plain bad politics. The Trump voters clamoring for change are not going to be receptive to Democratic criticism. Democrats do not need to convince other Democrats of the short sightedness of Trump’s approach. Democrats need to appeal to non-Democrats, and in that context, arguing against this deal is politically stupid. To all but the Democratic true believers, it sounds like Democrats are opposing Carrier’s retention of American jobs just to score political points against Donald Trump.

Democratic are concerned Trump’s Carrier deal will set a terrible precedent. They say it will encourage other businesses to threaten taking jobs overseas in order to obtain tax credits or other governmental incentives. Most Americans, and most especially Trump voters, ask how this is different from the status quo. The working class is tired of feeling like pawns. It doesn’t matter if this deal possibly sets a bad precedent because, to most Americans, it seems like a break is finally going in their favor.

Democrats have likened Trump’s deal-making style to Vladimir Putin’s strong arming of Russian oligarchs. They suggest that Trump may have threatened United Technologies Corporation, Carrier’s parent company and a major defense contractor, with unspecified future retaliation. These critics don’t get this is precisely what many want from their government. These voters want the government to leverage its power to help them keep their jobs. This is the exact change that the Trump supporters were asking for. Furthermore, most Americans do not see any menace in Trump’s behavior. To most, this is the same as negotiations routinely undertaken by mayors and governors when trying to retain businesses in their jurisdictions.

From a political perspective, Democrats would be better off conceding Donald Trump his small victory. This fight does not have any real long term implications. It is unlikely that President Trump will be able to stem job losses with one-on-one negotiations throughout the course of his administration. While the exodus of American manufacturing jobs cannot be resolved through a series of piecemeal interventions by the President, Democrats will gain nothing by appearing to stand in the way of such efforts.

Instead of criticism, Democrats need to propose policies that will expand the number of decent jobs for working class people. American manufacturing jobs have largely been lost to automation and other increases in productivity. The simple fact is, manufacturing jobs don’t exist in the same numbers as they once did; not because of outsourcing, but because of productivity gains. Despite the fact that American manufacturing output is greater than it has ever been, it simply takes fewer workers to operate these plants than it did in the past. Moreover, while the program of tariffs proposed by the incoming Trump administration might slow the erosion of a few American jobs to foreign locations, they will also result in higher prices, lower profits, less corporate investment, and an overall net job loss in the American economy.

Despite the fact that protectionist and interventionist trade measures are ultimately bad policy, a significant number of Democrats have advocated support for some version of them. This is the real issue that must be addressed. Democrats should stop railing against Trump’s symbolic gestures and stop advocating support for economic policies destined to fail. Instead, Democrats should be crafting policy proposals which encourage the growth of small businesses as the key to sustainable job growth. Democrats need to craft job training programs to address the nationwide shortfall in skilled trade workers.

Democrats must continue to advance the concept of free public college as another step towards improving the lot of the poor and working class. Keeping college graduates from being saddled with debt will result in greater economic activity and overall business growth, which will lead to even more jobs. Democrats need to present solutions that realistically address the core challenges to our economy while appealing to poor and middle class voters, especially those who become disillusioned with the Trumpian approach. Democrats must focus their energy on laying the foundation for winning the House in 2018, not engaging in battles they cannot win.