The US has always, since the beginning, been somewhat anti-Free Trade. They were super-duper pro-free trade when it came to interstate commerce, but they were always very suspicious of trade with foreign governments. In the earliest days, we were worried that we would be sucked into Great Britain's sphere of influence and become their puppet state if they could capture our trade. At the same time, GB's trade network was too lucrative to say "No GB trade!" and so we ended up running goods between GB's enemies and GB, which is the real reason why there was a war of 1812. (They asked us to stop trading with the French, we said "No.")
After the early days, the biggest concern was developing a manufacturing core. In addition to Jefferson's ideal of the citizen-farmer (what we might call "homesteading" today), the idea was that farmers needed certain things like plows and such and if we depended on England for that, they could destroy us.
After the Civil War, which one of the major reasons why it happened was because the North put massive tariffs on manufactured goods, making the South wholly reliant on Northern factories, we still maintained a fairly closed economy. Again, we wanted to make sure that we had the means to produce those things that kept our economy running.
Fast forward to WWI, and even though the US economy wasn't as integrated with the world as Europe's, where Laissez Faire free trade has almost become the rule rather than the exception, we finally had a chance to compare our economic output to Europe's, and it was clear by this time that our manufacturing center was very much stronger than theirs.
When WWII rolled around, which was a war fought in the factories, the USA had proven itself to be superior in every imaginable way in the manufacturing front. However, rather than keep our economy closed, we decided to open up imports from our former enemies, anticipating that if they had strong economic cores, they wouldn't want to wage war anymore.
By the time the 90s had rolled around, we had this idea that perhaps free trade was the answer to all the world's problems. If China would become a first world country, we thought, then they would be just as dependent on us as we are on each other, and war would be impossible. We also had the neocon strategy of destroying countries only to rebuild their economies in a way we prefered.
President Trump has represented a shift in thinking. No longer are we talking about free trade as a path to global citizenship. He exposed that while we kept our tariffs low, everyone else was keeping their tariffs high. That's the real reason why manufacturing jobs left, not because Americans were fat and lazy and Chinese were just so much better and cheaper, but because American workers were being cheated.
The future of the US looks like we're going back to basic protectionism. We're going to keep everything we feel is vital to us in-house. If other countries want to participate in our economy, they need to play by our rules, and even then, we're going to charge them a tariff that reflects the tariffs they charge us.
The US economy is awesome because the average American is significantly better at manufacturing than every other country. We show up to work on time, we point out problems to our bosses, we work together when we need to, and we are ready to learn new things and innovate on the job. No other country has a culture quite like this, which is why no other country has ever reproduced what we have done here.
It is astounding, to say the least, when you look at the US economy, our numbers, our efficiency, and the rest of the world. It almost looks like there is only one productive country in the world, and the rest are still learning how to beat two rocks together, economically speaking. We have figured out how to unleash human creativity on the economy.
I think we are also unique because we have maintained a religious devotion to work and work ethic. People think we keep business and religion separate, but for many, if not most people, they are one and the same. The Puritan work ethic is part of our culture and heritage. May it forever be so!
Wow. That was extremely well written! Great comment! Only thing I will add to the op is that it isn't just the government that needs to provide incentives. The American consumer must as well. Support by avoiding products from other countries, most importantly China, and purchasing products made in the USA. If demand shifts significantly towards USA made items, manufacturing will follow.
My wife broke her phone screen yesterday on her 3-year old phone. Samsung phones, made in Korea, cost $200-$300 more than Apple iPhones now. I have relatives in Korea, and I would prefer to buy Korean, but I'm not willing to spend a couple hundred dollars to avoid an American company. I'm buying American because I am a cheapskate. That's how the vast majority of Americans will choose to buy American as well.
The US has always, since the beginning, been somewhat anti-Free Trade. They were super-duper pro-free trade when it came to interstate commerce, but they were always very suspicious of trade with foreign governments. In the earliest days, we were worried that we would be sucked into Great Britain's sphere of influence and become their puppet state if they could capture our trade. At the same time, GB's trade network was too lucrative to say "No GB trade!" and so we ended up running goods between GB's enemies and GB, which is the real reason why there was a war of 1812. (They asked us to stop trading with the French, we said "No.")
After the early days, the biggest concern was developing a manufacturing core. In addition to Jefferson's ideal of the citizen-farmer (what we might call "homesteading" today), the idea was that farmers needed certain things like plows and such and if we depended on England for that, they could destroy us.
After the Civil War, which one of the major reasons why it happened was because the North put massive tariffs on manufactured goods, making the South wholly reliant on Northern factories, we still maintained a fairly closed economy. Again, we wanted to make sure that we had the means to produce those things that kept our economy running.
Fast forward to WWI, and even though the US economy wasn't as integrated with the world as Europe's, where Laissez Faire free trade has almost become the rule rather than the exception, we finally had a chance to compare our economic output to Europe's, and it was clear by this time that our manufacturing center was very much stronger than theirs.
When WWII rolled around, which was a war fought in the factories, the USA had proven itself to be superior in every imaginable way in the manufacturing front. However, rather than keep our economy closed, we decided to open up imports from our former enemies, anticipating that if they had strong economic cores, they wouldn't want to wage war anymore.
By the time the 90s had rolled around, we had this idea that perhaps free trade was the answer to all the world's problems. If China would become a first world country, we thought, then they would be just as dependent on us as we are on each other, and war would be impossible. We also had the neocon strategy of destroying countries only to rebuild their economies in a way we prefered.
President Trump has represented a shift in thinking. No longer are we talking about free trade as a path to global citizenship. He exposed that while we kept our tariffs low, everyone else was keeping their tariffs high. That's the real reason why manufacturing jobs left, not because Americans were fat and lazy and Chinese were just so much better and cheaper, but because American workers were being cheated.
The future of the US looks like we're going back to basic protectionism. We're going to keep everything we feel is vital to us in-house. If other countries want to participate in our economy, they need to play by our rules, and even then, we're going to charge them a tariff that reflects the tariffs they charge us.
The US economy is awesome because the average American is significantly better at manufacturing than every other country. We show up to work on time, we point out problems to our bosses, we work together when we need to, and we are ready to learn new things and innovate on the job. No other country has a culture quite like this, which is why no other country has ever reproduced what we have done here.
It is astounding, to say the least, when you look at the US economy, our numbers, our efficiency, and the rest of the world. It almost looks like there is only one productive country in the world, and the rest are still learning how to beat two rocks together, economically speaking. We have figured out how to unleash human creativity on the economy.
I think we are also unique because we have maintained a religious devotion to work and work ethic. People think we keep business and religion separate, but for many, if not most people, they are one and the same. The Puritan work ethic is part of our culture and heritage. May it forever be so!
Wow. That was extremely well written! Great comment! Only thing I will add to the op is that it isn't just the government that needs to provide incentives. The American consumer must as well. Support by avoiding products from other countries, most importantly China, and purchasing products made in the USA. If demand shifts significantly towards USA made items, manufacturing will follow.
Tariffs are all the incentive one needs.
My wife broke her phone screen yesterday on her 3-year old phone. Samsung phones, made in Korea, cost $200-$300 more than Apple iPhones now. I have relatives in Korea, and I would prefer to buy Korean, but I'm not willing to spend a couple hundred dollars to avoid an American company. I'm buying American because I am a cheapskate. That's how the vast majority of Americans will choose to buy American as well.