to the working class -- if the distribution of the gains results in a large class of losers -- then it is much harder to defend. We must find a way to ensure that trade realizes the promise of "lifting all boats" instead of just the yachts. Friday, July 20, 2012 However, for my taste, Reich gives in too much to the idea that income flows over the last several decades have followed changes in productivity. But they haven't, increases in the productivity of labor have not translated into corresponding increases in real wages, the gains have gone to the top of the income distribution instead, and it's not clear to me how calling for more a more competitive, more productive workforce will change that. Of course we want labor to be more competitive and more productive, but we also want workers to be rewarded when this happens: These are the dog days of summer and the silly season of presidential campaigns. But can we get real, please? The American economy has moved way beyond outsourcing abroad or even "in-sourcing." Most big companies headquartered in America don't send jobs overseas and don't bring jobs here from abroad. That's because most are no longer really "American" companies. They've become global networks that design, make, buy, and sell things wherever around the world it's most profitable for them to do so. As an Apple executive told the New York Times , "we don't have an obligation to solve America's problems. Our only