We don't get a higher standard of living. We're able to buy more stuff per unit, that's true. But, our trading partners buy less stuff per unit. This is very important given that we live in a global economy, and that's not going to change. So we're selling less stuff, meaning that companies make less money. Companies making less money produce less stuff or send jobs overseas to try and bring costs down. That means they're employing fewer US workers.

This effect is compounded by the fact that our companies are competing against companies from other nations, whose goods are now cheaper to buy, making them more attractive than US goods.