The simple fact is, a lot of American manufacturing was moved to China.
This is part of the reason, there are so many Americans, now out of work.
Bring back American jobs.
If we brought back the jobs, we would need to import more immigrants to fill the positions.
Those 90 million out of the work force aren’t going to flock to the jobs. A percentage of them will, many won’t.
Why?
They are no longer willing to pull the wagon. It’s easier to ride.
They would lose their benefits.
A certain percentage are tired of being flogged for succeeding.
Also
The EPA would throw endless roadblocks in front of those wishing to start enterprises that would be needed to bring back jobs. Manufacturing jobs rather than assembly work involve pollutants. We’ve exported much of our pollution.
To bring back investments to America to start jobs, corporations would pay taxes on those profits earned overseas and be left with what was left over to “bring back American jobs”. Then get taxed again once they began to earn profits again.
Keep waving that magic wand. It won’t hurt.
Only for those “Americans” to unionize the plant and produce crap? No thanks.
That's a great mantra, and something I'd like to see too, but keep wishing. The governmental rules and laws are seeing to that. Unions are still willing to see a company drown instead of using reason. The education system, if you even want to call it that anymore, has not produced the skills, or inclination, to enter a manufacturing related occupation. So we are probably a good 12-20 years of away from taking back our manufacturing leadership. That would be an aggressive estimate. Even the soft skills (administrative) roles would be challenging for many recent college grads, let alone high school grads.
I've spent a lot of time in China, and Asia in particular. I'll even admit to sending work over there. But it was a business decision and driven by the market. When lower prices are being demanded, you can respond, or you can close the doors. So the problem is much more challenging than just bringing jobs back to America.
The assumption that everyone who worked in manufacturing would get retrained and work in technology was always insane. A very large percentage are suited to hands-on activity oriented work, not sedentary days.
The other assumption that's insane is that lower-income people will find other employment when they can be replaced by invaders and other cheap foreign labor.
What's happening without these jobs being held by US citizens is planners striving for good conclusions from bad premises. The logical side of me cringes.