Recent downsizing among American automakers raises the broader question: how has American manufacturing been faring in recent years? Answer: Badly. In terms of both employment and wages, it’s been tough going for most workers in the sector.

Kevin Phillips in his book American Theocracy touches on this same issue. When a state does not manufacture anything it puts itself first into a trade deficit which we are in now. Then eventually a state will become a rentier state and suffer from Dutch disease. For a state to remain a dominant force, manufacturing has to take place within it’s borders. This is why China has become such a powerful economic force as of late. Of course China cannot sustain their skyrocketing economic growth and it will eventually level off, but the fact remains that they are exporting to us!