This is something nobody talks about. We import some of our military supplies nowadays. I think we still manufacture a lot of what the military needs, but not all of it.
Could we fight and win World War II today, considering that we have exported so much manufacturing? We converted factories, which produced everything from clothing to vacuum cleaners to glass products, to supply the war effort in World War II. Today, lots of those factories don’t exist anymore. There would not be much left to convert to the war effort if we ever had to fight such a war again.
And what indeed, if we ever had military conflict with such a huge trading partner as China?
Why would we import apple juice concentrate from China, when so many places in America grow apples? Food is one area in which we still produce a great amount of products for export, or at least I thought we did. Is it really so much more expensive to use American based workers to process food in factories here in America?
-———Is it really so much more expensive to use American based workers to process food in factories here in America?-—————
Yes and no.
The expensive part is the government intrusion and regulations.
See post 22.
Not only do the factories not exist, the managers and engineers with the knowledge to operate factories are retired or nearing retirement. This country needs to take dramatic action to bring manufacturing back to the US:
1) Institute a tariff of at least 20% on all imported products.
2) Eliminate corporate tax on profits made on products manufactured in the USA.
3) Assess a fee on every container brought into this country. The fee should be set high enough that the sum of the fees assessed on all containers each year covers the cost of operating the Coast Guard, Customs Service, Immigration Service, and Army Corps of Engineers.
4) Tort reform — loser pays all costs.
5) Regulatory reform.
6) Education reform — back to the basics (reading, writing, math) plus civics (American history and government).
7) End double taxation of dividends for all corporations manufacturing 100% in the USA.
8) Reciprocal non-tariff barriers.
9) Energy policy that encourages development of nuclear power and domestic petroleum resources.