[mysterio]

Technology and the subsequent increases in productivity are what have cost manufacturing jobs. Of course, there are still a lot of people that would like to use it against free trade, which has had nothing to do with it.

I'm sure the slave wages, no OSHA, and lax pollution controls in China had nothing to do with it, either.

The outsourcing model has failed.

[A.Hun]

I'm sure the slave wages, no OSHA, and lax pollution controls in China had nothing to do with it, either.

That certainly hasn't helped grow manufacturing, but as of 2006, we didn't have the work force for it anyway (remember the 4.6% unemployment rate?).

Even more than our less competitive stance, the overpriced doll has hurt manufacturing. When the dollar finally fell in 2007, our increase in manufactured goods gave us a net gain in GDP, just because our goods were cheaper overseas..

Japan and China consciously kept the dollar overvalued for years to lower the price of their exports.

Outsourcing has not failed, China and India are finally flexing some financial muscle, and have billions of people for a work force. It is only natural for labor intensive manufacturing to migrate to the lower labor costs.

That doesn't change the fact that the US manufactures as much as it always has, both in a percentage of our size, and in adjusted dollar amounts.