America is home to one of the largest manufacturing industries in the world.
For all its glory, the demise of American manufacturing had long been considered
inevitable. That is, until recently.
In his third State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out an ambitious
vision for a stronger America, in which manufacturing loomed large.
Though details of the president's proposals have sparked controversy, his calls
for a manufacturing revival have not. In an era of staunch partisanship, support
for U.S. manufacturing enjoys a rare bipartisan consensus.
But should it? Is the rebirth of America's manufacturing industry necessarily
a good thing?
Not everyone agrees.
According to some economists, Americans should invent and innovate, rather than
work on assembly lines.
Others point to the positive impact manufacturing jobs have had in developing
countries. By moving their factories to China, U.S. firms like Apple have helped
lift hundreds of millions of individuals out of abject poverty. Bringing these
jobs back home risks stifling such progress.
What's more, many believe it may be impossible to bring many of these jobs
back. They argue that the U.S. cannot compete with the low wages, willing workers,
and efficient supply chains overseas.
Still, the U.S. has lost nearly 8 million factory jobs since the 1970s. Economists
once predicted that other sectors would pull up the slack. They were wrong.
While low-wage service sector jobs have grown, middle class jobs-like those
in manufacturing-have not. For millions of Americans, it's now harder to enter
or stay in the middle class.
Where do you stand? Can and should U.S. manufacturing make a comeback?
By Marlene
Spoerri
For more information see
David M. Ewalt, "Manufacturing
Jobs Aren't Coming Back and That's OK," Forbes, November 8,
2011
Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher, "How
the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work," The New York Times, January
21, 2012
Photo Credits in order of Appearance:
NH567
Stefan
Ray
Pete
Souza/The White House [also for picture 4]
Ford
APA
Kyle
Bruggeman, Nebraska News21/Released
Steve
Jurvetson
Travel
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albemar78
Valerie
Knoblauch
Indmus
