If Globalization is indeed dead, then why?

In a recent article in Marketplace by Scott Tong, titled "What went wrong with globalization, the author makes several premises for his point, among them that globalization was neither the right decision, nor one that necessarily would equalize the economic world view, preventing major winners and losers; instead smoothing out the global economy.

In some sense, he may be at least partially right. When the push toward a more global society, the intention at the time was to enable less-advantaged countries with resources to develop those resources, producing goods and services of value to other nations. Had that been the ultimate goal, and not merely a stepping stone that some saw as a 'New World Order' in the political sense, as he calls himself 'a citizen of the world', then much of what was intended in terms of improving the world economy might have actually happened.

However, at least here in the US, and in several other of the most-developed countries, there were additional confluences which worked to skew the intended results. In the US, for example, the high costs of manufacturing, led by high salary/pay and benefits, mostly from the push of unionization, led to losses of jobs in massive amounts, as companies took advantage of lower salaries, taxes, and other costs in less-developed countries. Those unionization efforts were exacerbated by liberal-leaning administrations which allowed unionization with the consent of only a minority of employees, driving some smaller firms out of business. The other major flaw in the mix was tax rates--where tax rates for corporate entities is high, manufacturing flees to other places.

Look at Britain, where the EU emasculated their sovereignty for more global approaches. The same is true of several other members of the EU, who are now rethinking their membership. of course, there are still the Scotland's of the world that want their products to be available through the EU, even though they may end up m ore expensive. They also do not want to have to face higher import costs. Conversely, Ireland, which is thriving with low tax rates and a ready base for manufacturing, is being beaten up by the EU for making their country available to those who want a better economic environment. The same is true in other regions.

The US, of course, will bring back jobs, at least in the current administration, with threat, but, until the tax rates are lowered, these will be fleeting changes. if the US government dies succeed in lowering tax rates, they also need to return to prior rules on unionization--not using it as a club for failing union membership, but reserved for those industries where employees still need outside support to receive working, living wages.

Read the article. Comments would be appreciated.

https://www.marketplace.org/2017/08/07/world/trade-stories-globalization-and-backlash/what-went-wrong-with-globalization?