I grew up in Detroit and well remember when the first of the high wage low skill jobs left.
Economically they were not sustainable, so they left. The lead story in 1979 on any TV news show was how many days of inventory Chrysler had stored at the Michigan State Fairgounds. Seriously.
For my job I moved to Mexico to help launch the GMT 805 and 806 for GM in Silao Guanajuato.
I expected to see a third world plant with bodies thrown at every process. No. This was a first world assembly plant that only needed 2500 people to do what in Detroit would take 4500 people.
The pay rate was 800 pesos per week which is like $800 here in the USA.
You want to stop the outflow of manufacturing jobs? Not easy..
Even with all the manufacturing jobs China received from the USA they still lost 16 Million manufacturing jobs between 1995 and 2005.
Manufacturing jobs will be to this century what farm jobs were to the last.
In 1900 30% of all jobs were farm jobs. Now farm jobs account for 2% of all jobs.
The only way to preserve jobs is to be the most efficient workers in the world which we are, thanks to Engineering.
Want to stop outsourcing? Complain about the lack of engineering process improvements, not China.
Workers are only as good as the process they are given, therefore give them better processes.
China is not the problem, we are.
I agree. The market currently “sustains” too many useless lib arts degree holders. The government seems to employ and maintain the employment of a lot of parasitic load. (tied up or wasted capital) If higher tech degrees were what the workforce and job market demanded, than people would have to get those skills. In a free market society these skills and opportunities would be quick to change/manifest because capaital would be available and in quantity to make it so. In whatever the market demands, the country with the most free market has a distinct advantage in versatility, speed, and (most critically) efficiency.
I appreciate my engineering degree for more than just the skill set. The mindset is priceless.
I used to believe as you do.
I have gradually changed my mind. China is methodically capturing technologies. And keeping them.
All businesses in China have a Chinese majority owner.
China is a very big, and growing problem. And we have appeared so far, to completely ignore the problem.