[Alberta's Child]

Americans do not have some kind of God-given right to inexpensive consumer products manufactured halfway around the world. In fact, the whole purpose of an "America First" political/economic model is to get over this idiocy and do more manufacturing here domestically. And at a bare minimum, we should be looking to repatriate the maritime shipping industry back here to the U.S. so we don't have this idiotic scenario that's being played out now.

As a nation we have made a number of political and government policy decisions over the years that have brought us to a situation today that is completely untenable for a sovereign, independent nation. International trade is not a bad thing, but international trade that is seemingly carried out on everyone's terms except ours is a disaster -- and what you're seeing now in the Red Sea is one case study in how it all goes off the rails.

Let's look at where the last 50+ years have brought us ...

1. Chase many of our major manufacturing industries overseas through excessive regulation and unfavorable business conditions.
2. Make large swaths of America destitute in the process.
3. Chase all our maritime shipping companies overseas, too -- for the same reasons so many manufacturers have left.
4. Have U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for the U.S. Navy to protect Danish ships ... flying Panamanian or Liberian flags ... with crews of Filipino sailors ... delivering everything from cheap Chinese crap to critical materials and high-value electronic components here to the U.S.

There is nothing about this that makes any sense to me. If you are a maritime shipping company you have every financial and regulatory incentive to domicile your company and flag your vessels in any country but the U.S. -- and you can still count on the U.S. taxpayers to pay for the military protection of your ships.

[gleeaikin]

Paying US wages it unfortunately makes sense for corporations to off shore a lot of their production. Of course that also enables them to pay at the top outrageously high wages in the many multi $millions. Thus a lot of our medicines and vitamins are produced in China., and heaven help our sick if they decide to play gamss with production or delivery.

We once had a healthy drug production complex in Puerto Rico, but then Congress in it’s wisdom decided to eliminate the special rule that made it sensible for our drug companies to produce their products there. Now a 5 mile square production complex sits slowly deteriorating as the years go by and we complaine about getting our essential drugs from China. why can’t we take the steps to put this large production complex back to work where it is close to home, and not controlled by a potential enemy.

One question, do we have enough port facilities to support the ownership of our current shipping needs or would a lot of time and money be needed to develop such port facilities and ships?