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American workers need more to help them cope in a globalizing economy. The puny program to help workers displaced by trade needs to be strengthened and broadened to include other workers displaced by economic forces beyond their control, including technology.

Workers need affordable health insurance that will not disappear when they are laid off. Unemployment insurance needs to be strengthened, perhaps to include some form of insurance to shore up the wages of displaced workers who are forced to take lesser-paying jobs. A more progressive tax policy could help redistribute some of the gains of trade accruing to those on the top of the income scale. More investment in physical and human capital — from roads and railways to workers’ lifelong education — would enable businesses and workers to better compete.

Senators Clinton and Obama can offer policies that will help American workers embrace rather than fear a globalized world. American voters certainly deserve a more serious discussion about trade.