Donald Trump's economic amber

America already has a horribly muddled industrial policy. Trump is about to make it even worse.

American industry: stuck.
(Image credit: Illustration by Lauren Hansen | Images courtesy iStock)

What if industrial policy — a national strategy to promote certain industries or sectors of the economy — never went away? What if it can't go away? And what if Donald Trump is about to make it much, much worse?

Trump and Mike Pence recently cut a deal to save several hundred jobs that Carrier, a manufacturer of air conditioners and gas furnaces, had planned to relocate from Pence's home state of Indiana to Mexico. It was a minor public-relations coup, to be sure, but questionable on the merits. On this, economists on the left and right largely agreed, if for different reasons.

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Scott Galupo

Scott Galupo is a freelance writer living in Virginia. In addition to The Week, he blogs for U.S. News and reviews live music for The Washington Post. He was formerly a senior contributor to the American Conservative and staff writer for The Washington Times. He was also an aide to Rep. John Boehner. He lives with his wife and two children and writes about politics to support his guitar habit.