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That's a goofy argument because manufacturing did not start to be offshored until AFTER tariffs were removed. Chart: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com

That's a goofy argument because manufacturing did not start to be offshored until AFTER tariffs were removed. Chart: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Average_Tariff_Rates_in_USA_%281821-2016%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Average_...

lesuorac 1y ago
Eh, doesn't that chart support their argument? Domestic manufacturing decreasing as tariffs decrease implies that increasing tariffs would increase domestic manufacturing. With their argument being that you needed to do it 50 years ago when the shift started because if you do it now it's really painful.
- philistine 1y ago
  > if you do it now it's really painful. That's a misnomer if ever there was one. The current batch of tariffs will destroy enough American wealth to nosedive the economy before any long-term change. Manufacturing is not coming back, there's just not gonna be enough wealth in the US to warrant it. Plus there are counter-tariffs, so if you make it in America, you can't reliably export it.
- CGMthrowaway 1y ago
  The pain increases with time, but we don't have a time machine so what is the alternative?
  - dmonitor 1y ago
    the current strategy seems to be the equivalent of taking a chainsaw to someone's chest and calling it heart surgery. I don't know how to do a heart transplant, but I know the tools require some amount of subtlety.
    - tharmas 1y ago
      This. There's always two ways to do things: the right way and the wrong way. And they chose the wrong way. This isn't 1971 where Nixon could tell the world "suck it. our dollar, your problem" because America was the sole hegemon. Today, there is a rival player. China. Its a completely different game.
  - dttze 1y ago
    Invest in economic zones. Enforce the usage of the investment into infrastructure and not stock buybacks. Rebuild industry. Then establish tariffs to cement it.
tristor 1y ago
Correct, however that doesn't mean that bringing tariffs back will have any immediate impact to reverse this change. 2025 is not 1980.

lesuorac 1y ago

Eh, doesn't that chart support their argument? Domestic manufacturing decreasing as tariffs decrease implies that increasing tariffs would increase domestic manufacturing. With their argument being that you needed to do it 50 years ago when the shift started because if you do it now it's really painful.

philistine 1y ago
> if you do it now it's really painful. That's a misnomer if ever there was one. The current batch of tariffs will destroy enough American wealth to nosedive the economy before any long-term change. Manufacturing is not coming back, there's just not gonna be enough wealth in the US to warrant it. Plus there are counter-tariffs, so if you make it in America, you can't reliably export it.
CGMthrowaway 1y ago
The pain increases with time, but we don't have a time machine so what is the alternative?
- dmonitor 1y ago
  the current strategy seems to be the equivalent of taking a chainsaw to someone's chest and calling it heart surgery. I don't know how to do a heart transplant, but I know the tools require some amount of subtlety.
  - tharmas 1y ago
    This. There's always two ways to do things: the right way and the wrong way. And they chose the wrong way. This isn't 1971 where Nixon could tell the world "suck it. our dollar, your problem" because America was the sole hegemon. Today, there is a rival player. China. Its a completely different game.
- dttze 1y ago
  Invest in economic zones. Enforce the usage of the investment into infrastructure and not stock buybacks. Rebuild industry. Then establish tariffs to cement it.

tristor 1y ago

Correct, however that doesn't mean that bringing tariffs back will have any immediate impact to reverse this change. 2025 is not 1980.