Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaybee
Can someone describe a mechanism for this? What happened in the early 2000's that cratered manufacturing jobs? War on Terror - if so, how?
I feel like I should be able to work this out myself, but maybe I need more coffee.
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China came fully on line.
In the 1950s there were about 500-600 million people in China. They were essentially a subsistence economy, wages were pretty much zero. Today there are almost 1.5 billion Chinese and there has been steady and enormous wage growth since around the turn of the century.
Why? Trade with the world. China fully joined the party with a huge population which was unemployed outside of subsistence. It was almost inevitable.
It is imperative that we keep some industry alive here within our borders. A national security imperative in terms of military defense capability.
Trade is great but we still need to be somewhat self sufficient and especially in the fundamentals or basics. If we had no auto industry we’d be buying other nations cars and at their prices and on their terms. No aviation industry, we’d be riding on other nation’s planes. Best situation is where we lead and are fully involved in industry. If you can’t make things for your self, you may find yourself at the mercy of others to provide them.