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I work in public policy, so I'll just weigh in on that aspect for a moment: Manufacturing jobs won't be coming back to America because of various environmental

I work in public policy, so I'll just weigh in on that aspect for a moment: Manufacturing jobs won't be coming back to America because of various environmental and labor laws. It started with the unions, and labor laws, and in response companies sought ways to reduce labor costs. They looked where labor could be had cheaper, with less restrictions. Then environmental regulations kicked in and companies sought to reduce those costs, etc. The results? Manufacturing moved overseas to places like China, where there are few environmental laws, labor laws, and the cost of both are way down. Manufacturing, especially on the scale that can move an economy, will always be up against those two paradigms: Labor and Environment. In theory, as long as strong protections exist for those there is zero incentive to large-scale manufacture in America.

int_19h 10y ago
Of course, the government can further intervene by e.g. imposing import tariffs on products that are manufactured in countries that don't have labor and/or environment laws that don't match or exceed the baseline provided by US.
- Overtonwindow 10y ago
  They could, and probably should, but then we run into the possibility of a zero sum game. First, that is pretty much all of the countries which produce our consumer goods, and might I add, buy our debt. Second, the CEOs of those companies are going to get really pissed if their products go up in price. So they'll retaliate politically, but also pressure the other country to raise its tariffs on our exports. Speaking policy only, an option to take is to make it cheaper overall for companies to manufacture here. Define a set of industries you want back in America, and reduce or eliminate their corporate income tax based on a certain number of employees and plants. Then even with the environmental and labor laws in place, they'll still see it's more economically feasible to return.

int_19h 10y ago

Of course, the government can further intervene by e.g. imposing import tariffs on products that are manufactured in countries that don't have labor and/or environment laws that don't match or exceed the baseline provided by US.

Overtonwindow 10y ago
They could, and probably should, but then we run into the possibility of a zero sum game. First, that is pretty much all of the countries which produce our consumer goods, and might I add, buy our debt. Second, the CEOs of those companies are going to get really pissed if their products go up in price. So they'll retaliate politically, but also pressure the other country to raise its tariffs on our exports. Speaking policy only, an option to take is to make it cheaper overall for companies to manufacture here. Define a set of industries you want back in America, and reduce or eliminate their corporate income tax based on a certain number of employees and plants. Then even with the environmental and labor laws in place, they'll still see it's more economically feasible to return.