You maintain we are "losing" manufacturing jobs. OK, for us to have "lost" jobs, when did all these jobs appear? Just give me a decade. When did we have massive manufacturing job growth since 1970?
This is critical because if you say that all these manufacturing jobs came in the Carter years, you must then credit the extremely high taxes of the Carter years. Therefore, I assume your "solution" to job loss is to raise taxes.
If you say the job growth occurred in the Reagan years (which is what I say) then you have a problem, because Reagan cut taxes, and had almost NO protective tariffs on anything. (Briefly, on Harleys, briely on some cars---never on computers or high tech, which was the most rapidly growing sector, or on steel, which lost jobs).
If you say that the job growth occurred during the Clinton years, then you must credit NAFTA, which I don't think you want to do.
There is a fourth alternative that I know you don't want to face: we might not have EVER changed our share of mfg. jobs since 1950.
We haven't had massive manufacturing growth since the early 40's. However we have never had OUR OWN INDUSTRY fleeing the country at ever increasing rates like we see today. I see the results at work daily. I don't care what Rush's one study says. We have serious problems.
Good luck and believe what you want.
You mean when we had a trade surplus we had less manufacturing?