Jbog,
I agree that manufacturing is critical to employment in the US. I have never accepted giving up "real" work. We have many common people, people that I care about, they need jobs and the dignity that comes with supporting their family.
I do not agree that manufacturing cannot be revitalized in the US. It is not hard to find companies that are moving manufacturing jobs back here. And currency exchange rates are key. Remember when ALL Japanese cars were made in Japan? They aren't now. Why? The dollar/yen exchange rate made the former model too expensive and much of the production was shifted to the US.
Take a look some time at the high-value manufacturing done in EU. Lots of that is imported to the US. We can compete with that.
We must compete in manufacturing. Not all of our people can be brain surgeons.
The importation model and experience in the US to which you point is a product of maintaining a "strong dollar policy". That policy was supported by the US wanting to maintain the reserve currency status of the USD. To do that we became the swing producer of the world - allowing our production to be transferred out.
We have a decision in this. I am not suggesting we can reverse our manufacturing decline quickly. But it can be done.
To do it will take political will and sound economic policy. Economic policy that fosters low cost of capital (we have that), low cost of power (energy goes in everything, we are well endowed there but the policy side is screwed up), low legal costs (think litigation limits and property rights protection) and is stable over time could bring a manufacturing renaissance. (In contrast to what I suggest, Obama is heading down the Michigan/union policy path which drives costs up and destroys manufacturing. Ask anyone living in Michigan how that is working for them.) It is unlikely that we will reach my solution cognitively. But since it is one of the few real possibilities that will work, we may just stumble into it. Obama is economically clueless. His every policy betrays that. His policy preferences override whatever sound economic advice he is being given. (An interesting difference from the Greenspan-Clinton relationship.)
ij
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