thegreekdog wrote:These conditions also beg the question as to whether Americans actually want to bring manufacturing jobs back to America.
You hit on something there.
I the 1950's and 60's we had an ethic that said that workers should expect reasonable hours, relatively safe working conditions and benefits. But, even as the profits of major companies were soaring in the 1980's, it became popular to blame all the rules and regulations for failures in business and lack of profits. The irony is that the very workers who should have objected (who did object in many cases) decided that those issues just were not as important as promoting the socially conservative agenda.
Or, to be more correct, the language of poli-speech began to change significantly. Suddenly, instead of workers being the foundation of the country, it was those at the top who needed to be supported so the incomes could "trickle down".. or, in today's vernacular, we have to support the "job creators".
Things will only change when, as you note, folks begin to realize that purchases, not investments are what really and truly fuel our economy AND, though you did not say it, I will add production that is sustainable and NOT damaging the environment. The environment is not some esoteric thing for hippies, it is the literal world in which we live. We ignore that, and we all will be in even more dire straights.
