The average american who maybe lost a factory job 10 years ago, or who's parents made a good living working for a Ford factory in the 60s.. is mad about manufacturing leaving the country. There are millions of people with low education unable to make a living wage. That is where the anger is.
When an India bodyshop comes in, and displaces 50 people making 100k a year.. and they have to go find a new job making 100k a year within a month, there is much less outrage. The general rust belt population in the US is not going to go to bat for lawyers getting paid less, or IT workers making 10 or 20k less. Their parents made 60k working at a Ford factory, and now they make 20k working for a carwash. They are the ones that are outraged.
brianwawok says:> "manufacturing leaving the country. There are millions of people with low education unable to make a living wage. That is where the anger is."
That's not the only place the anger is!
I can no longer buy good hand tools like those made in the USA during the 60s. Since then, neither China nor India (nor any other rising nation except Taiwan) have produced hand tools comparable to those formerly available from the USA.
Remarkably, most of my USA-made hand tools from the 60s still work but nothing lasts forever and accidents do happen. At least I can still get high-quality German, French or Japanese tools.
Business schools taught international economics theory to MBAs, who proselytized and burned down the barn (i.e., the USA's manufacturing capability) by globalizing everything in sight. MBAs in finance engineered a series of disastrous economic collapses, each larger than the previous. While the USA has "enjoyed" center-stage in this circus, I would have preferred that we, as a nation, avoided such a sordid business history.
Were it possible to do again, I would put most of the MBAs (along with all political science students) onto concrete boats and let the Navy use them for target practice. India and China would be much poorer but also would have avoided much upheaval. And I could buy good hand tools which, of course, is all I care about!
Clearly some people value this. I know people that go to garage sales just to get vintage better made hand tools. So clearly there is some kind of demand for this.
Why do we not have a hand tools startup come in, and offer 1960s quality hand tools for a price premium? Choices are:
1) They literally cannot be made today. Say the type of steel is different, or there is some physical reason they cannot be built.
2) They can be made, but the price is so high - not enough people would pay for it, and the company would go under.
3) This is a ripe opportunity, and we just need a startup to come along an exploit it.
I am going to rule 1 out without more proof. So down to 2 choices. How much are people will to pay for really nice hand tools? 2-5x the autozone tools price?
When an India bodyshop comes in, and displaces 50 people making 100k a year.. and they have to go find a new job making 100k a year within a month, there is much less outrage. The general rust belt population in the US is not going to go to bat for lawyers getting paid less, or IT workers making 10 or 20k less. Their parents made 60k working at a Ford factory, and now they make 20k working for a carwash. They are the ones that are outraged.