Some people blame immigration for this. I would say immigration is perhaps 5% the problem, while 95% is fucked up trade deals that benefit globalist. Just look at the trade deals the USA has made over the last 30 years. These trade deals opened the USA market to cheap labor nations and allowed the USA to do offshore manufacturing at no net lose to the business.

Before all these disastrous trade deals tariffs, foreign nation taxing and other forms of taxes made producing goods off US shores impractical. Thus keeping jobs in the USA. Post trade deals companies had zero incentive to manufacture in the USA but all the benefits of selling to US consumers.

All these trade deals did was give companies zero reasons to be in the USA aside from selling to US.

Oh crap, totally didn't connect the first part, "Most of those living on the edge". What a weird way to say what they wanted to say, i.e., not 68% of all woman. Sorry for the mistake :(

... still scary stats though.

That isn't what "protectionism" is

Protectionism refers specifically to tariffs

Absolutely. But you can't have a discussion about which laws are bad and which are good when all you get is people passionately proclaiming that government regulation is bad, it is destroying the country, red tape this, over reach that. No one ever talks about specific laws, they just want everyone to rally behind a call to end "red tape". Another problem is people using regulations to solicit bribes. Your shit can't pass inspection because you didn't grease the wheels. It can be infuriating. I understand why people get so passionate, but I can't agree with vague and broad statements about it. Especially when there are a lot of justifiable laws that will always be attacked this way.

For example every few months there will be a story about how the government wants to ban private farms, big agro is killing the small farmer, pleas help us fight the big government. And after you wade through all the propaganda you find out it is about the ban of sale of unpasteurized milk. And everyone up votes it, and the comments are filled with sympathizers, and signatures are collected and letters sent to congress. But the reality is the unpasteurized milk sells for a higher price like organic produce; it has no nutritional value over pasteurized milk but that doesn't stop people from believing it does. After all the sellers don't directly advertise it as such, who knows where those websites come from that claim that. But no one mentions that unpasteurized milk can kill you before there is any hint that it has gone bad. No one tells you that you can't refrigerate it like regular milk and drink it a week later. You assumed you could, and so it is your fault that your kid is in the hospital.

Damn government and their protection of consumers.

As a business owner for 8 years it's FUCKN hard and complicated to start anything so many hoops and so many times being fucked in the ass. Three years ago forgot to file quarterly taxes for my state. Filed yearly come the next fuckn year my state says I own the maximum amount for a small business of my size $3500 when in reality it was probably $90 or so after expenses and all. I can't fight it because I got a letter a YEAR later saying I didn't file the quarterly ones and if I can with in the filing year marked the year before it would be fine. Also it was post marked the week before they just sent it a year late.

I think they forgot to change the definition of the American dream.

My take home pay was going up a little each year until 2008. Then it began to go down, now my take home paycheck has barely reached the level it was in 2008, not quite but almost there. It's been 8 years and I earn less than I did in 2008. I haven't changed jobs. I like this job, I've received raises and increases, my gross pay has gone up each year but my taxes have gone up, health insurance and every other benefit costs a lot more. I've lost tax credits and deductions that used to compensate. So my take home pay is lower. This sucks, I can't wait for the Obama administration to leave and some sensible governing can begin again (not Hillary for goodness sakes!)

How about that "hope and change"? Hows that working these days?

the result of unfiltered immigration and H1B visas

This was the result of Greenspan's experiment in the 90s. All that "economic gain" in the 90s that people attribute to Clinton, was a farce.

I suspect part of why he manipulated the market the way he did, of why he kept bailing out speculators, was to inflate market growth and make 401ks look better than pensions. Keep in mind that the baby boomers retire in mass soon, and their pension expense will break some of the bigger companies, companies with deep political roots.

Berneke is just as bad as greenspan. There will have to be a new fed chair, one that will have to raise interest rates back to pre 90s levels.