HOW CRITICAL IS MANUFACTURING TO AMERICA'S SURVIVAL?

During the Revolutionary War, Americans learned the risks of having no manufacturing capability. England forbade it, and we depended on them for all finished goods, such as weaponry, while we fought them. If France had never supplied colonists with weapons, we would have never gained independence. This hard lesson was reinforced during the War of 1812. Americans realized that maintaining sovereignty depended heavily on maintaining a strong manufacturing base. The Tariff Acts of 1789 and 1816 allowed America to create that capability. By 1870, the United States had surpassed Great Britain to become the world's second-largest manufacturing power. America surpassed them in the 1880s. We led the world until 2010. China now leads the world in manufacturing.

In 1979, over 19,500,000 Americans worked in manufacturing jobs. These jobs paid well, had reasonable working hours, and often came with benefits like a pension or health insurance. By 2019, before the government’s COVID-19 lockdown halted the economy, the number of Americans with manufacturing jobs had declined to 11.7 million. America has lost approximately 7.8 million manufacturing jobs over the last forty years. Not coincidentally, most jobs were lost after 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization. The United States pushed to make that happen.

Most Americans were shocked to see how dependent the United States was on Chinese imports during the COVID-19 pandemic. They gave us COVID, and then we had to go to them for medical supplies. What a wake-up call! Under President Trump, efforts are underway to reshore vital manufacturing to prevent such a situation from happening again. He is using tariff negotiations to secure foreign investments and to reshore critical manufacturing capabilities. This is still unfolding and will likely continue to create turbulence in the markets.

Contrary to what the open-border globalists claim, America has excess labor capacity. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 100.3 million Americans NOT in the labor force. These individuals are not included in the unemployment rate, as they are not actively seeking employment. Additionally, many employed individuals either work multiple part-time jobs or are not in their skill area.

For our national security and to revive a robust economy, the United States must reshore the strategic industries that globalists have shipped overseas over the last several decades. We have no security without a strong economy.