A long post why Trump/Vance “energy independence by drill baby drill” CAN NOT work.
At one time the US was a manufacturing powerhouse. Vance wants to blame it on Democrats, but it was actually Conservatives of both parties that saw China as a manufacturing hub. The main incentive? Cheap labor.
Now, this wasn’t PLANNED planned, no one stopped to think, “Hey, how will this affect Americans”, it was just the cheapest thing to do.
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@feloneouscat The U.S. is still a manufacturing powerhouse. Manufacturing jobs are in decline, but that isn't the same as output. Manufacturing is also in decline as a percentage of U.S. GDP.
However, the U.S. is second only to China is percentage of global manufacturing output. U.S. output is greater than Japan, Korea, and Germany combined.
It may be a moot point from the perspective of manufacturing jobs, but the common perception we aren't producing anymore isn't right.
Yes, but that isn’t my point. My point is that “Drill Baby Drill” can not achieve energy independence in the same way we cannot bring back manufacturing from China without a) increasing the cost of goods or b) paying Americans less.
My argument is not about whether or not the US manufactures goods, it does. I have worked for 40 in companies that manufactured goods my firmware/software was embedded in.
Let me clarify, because many will mistake my “goods” incorrectly: the goods I’m referring to are hardware with software embedded in it. For, example, check scanning devices or semiconductor robotics (the latter was some of the most fun I’ve ever had).
I’ve even worked at an oilfield instrumentation company, do I know a little about the oilfield (it is not a human friendly place).