Posted on 07/28/2016 5:37:52 AM PDT by expat_panama
...the talk surrounding U.S. manufacturing is one of relentless decline: a loss of jobs, the shutting down of factories, increased competition from foreign countries, a global war in which the U.S. seems to be on the losing end.
And of course, its true. At some level, manufacturing has declined dramatically as a direct employer of American workers...
The idea is that if there are more and more unemployed factory workers then the U.S. manufacturing sector is collapsing.
At the same time others point out that if America makes more stuff than ever then our manufacturing sector's great. The difference of opinion revolves around the question of why we have a manufacturing sector in the first place: some say the the reason we build factories is for making things and others say we build factories so that's where the unemployed can sit while we give them money.
tx fer the headsup!
Is this an attempt to put a positive spin on Obama’s legacy?
What US manufacturing?
The steel plant in Bethlehem PA that’s now a casino?
The manufacturing plants that were scared out of Manhattan NY in the 1950s due to left-wing social policies that required increased taxation and regulation?
Alexander Hamilton may have had a big-government bent, but he sure was right about needing the means of “subsistence, habitation, clothing and defense” within our borders.
U.S. Bureau of Labor and their statistics ?
Uh ha.
George Orwell, anyone?
Our other loyal government beanies say our unemployment rate is 5%
There is some truth to this article. You can automate factories and produce more (& better quality) with fewer people. However, I also thought they changed the definition of manufacturing at some point, to include food service workers.
Hopefully your mileage will be better. But I wouldn't count on it.
Here is the graphic referred to in the article that, for me, makes the case that U.S. manufacturing is quite healthy and growing (despite the hit we took in 2008.)
I reality manufacturing jobs are disappearing worldwide.
Actually, it’s because manufacturing is becoming increasingly automated, and thus, creates fewer jobs.
And the displaced workers generally don’t have the skills or training, and, often, the aptitude, for the more difficult, technology-intensive jobs that remain.
This is an increasingly common problem as things go on: we are literally creating work that only a small portion of the population can do.
The flip side of the problem, is the one Mike Rowe often addresses: the lack of Skilled Labor. The schools push kids towards College and away from “vo-tech” fields, which are often hurting for lack of qualified skilled labor. . . .
And why should we believe anything out of the executive department, again?
There is some truth in this article. The big ticket items are made, or at least assembled in the U.S., but the items most Americans use are not. Look around your own house. Buicks are soon to be made in China.
The global company I work for is actually building a huge manufacturing plant at our campus. It will be a plant staffed by robots.
The bigger point is, what is manufacturing as percentage of US gross product. And also, could such a sector, as in the past, be large enough to eliminate (or prevent) a welfare state, thus encouraging the return of the family and keeping all Marxist social policies at bay.
You don't have to if you don't want to.
But you should spend some time looking for other sources to justify a downturn in manufacturing output rather than simply dismissing the idea that it is actually growing. I don't think you will find it.
You do realize that any executive department = Obama, right?
Of course. I also look at the data from 1980 to 1988. Do you believe that data?
What statistics to you have from what source that contradicts it?
Pro administration piece. Very suspicious. Seems like lots of this during the convention.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.