"This rhetorical game has been played dozens of times since at least the 1970s."
That would be great if two things were happening. One, if we were the ones getting the profits. Two, if were the ones producing. We ain't, and that has been changing for the negative since the 70's, and it is getting harder and harder for the US to make profit.
You are less well off financially than your parents?
And you think this would be observably true for most Americans?
Consider this.
If there were any truth to your suggestion, people would be flocking out of America by the millions to seek a better life in the capital infused alternatives.
This is not happening. In fact, quite the reverse is happening. For some reason, every person on the earth is desperate to get here for a chance at the impossible circumstances you describe. We are not talking small numbers here. Torrential numbers of people pour into this country each year-- more than all nations combined.
For some reason-- and this has been going on for quite some time-- no one seems to be getting the message that life in America is becoming increasingly economically unsustainable.