I am not even going to watch the debate; I have no interested in it. The only thing I care about is the issues: Every year we as a country manufacture less and the lower classes become poorer. The national debt continues to grow and the bill will come due someday. We continue to take in more poor immigrants putting more and more pressure on the social welfare system. What happens to the people that need it when we can no longer pay for it. Our borders are wide open to drugs and poor illegal immigrants and the problems they bring. I am going to vote for Trump I don’t like him, but that is not important, he is the only one that offers any hope that something will be done before it is too late.
It is true we manufacture less percentage of things than in the past. Manufacturing for us will only be a part of the future. Information and ideas on how to do things including manufacturing is taking a bigger position than in the past.
I have been a machinist for well over thirty years. I understand the nuts and bolts of how it works. I understand WHY companies want to have "some" stuff machined overseas. It doesn't take a genius to push the "go" button and make sure the cutting tool isn't getting dull.
There are still plenty of manufacturing jobs that require sensitive handling and machining. The fact that WE recognize patents and ownership separates us from all other countries with maybe the exception of Israel. We will inherit the manufacturing of all the IMPORTANT stuff and the Asians can fight over manufacturing toys and telephone cases.
No, what separates us from the rest of the countries is that they build stuff, and we use that stuff going more into debt each year.
They build CRAP. They cut each others and their own throats over building CRAP. There is no need nor future trying to compete in that sector of manufacturing. We should just make medical equipment and other high end or patent sensitive things where the integrity of our way making things matters.
I agree Huggy, they build CRAP. Just a few examples would be the cheap and inferior steel that China has, as well as the crappy batteries that they make over there that causes hoverboards and phones to explode and catch fire, as well as some of the shoddy toys that are painted with lead based paint.
What we need are congress critters who will tell the lobbyists of the corporations that want to ship jobs overseas to screw off.
Not only that, but start giving government contracts to AMERICAN businesses, even if it might cost a bit more, because paying jobs in America will contribute a great deal to the economy. Want an example? Instead of getting the steel to repair the Golden Gate Bridge (an American icon) from China, why in the hell didn't we give the contract to American steel companies?