It is hard to see our trade policy as a place where we are having much success. We have an unceasing $700 billion trade deficit, and we have lost 5.2 million manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

The numbers are shocking -- assuming that we still have the capacity for shock -- and they will form the backdrop for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

What can we hope to learn from the cases discussed in this book? First, cities can take meaningful steps to address the issue of low-wage work. Second, they can do so and still remain economically strong. The San Francisco economy is not unique in its ability to incorporate employer mandates.