US fixation on the hard-hat economy and making manufacturing great again makes little sense
The dream of greasy overalls is driven by nostalgia and doesn’t justify policies that harm US consumersThe exhortations to protect America’s industrial muscle have resonated in the US at least since maverick presidential candidate Ross Perot brought up the supposed “giant sucking sound” of...
<p>The dream of greasy overalls is driven by nostalgia and doesn’t justify policies that harm US consumers</p><p>The exhortations to protect America’s industrial muscle have resonated in the US at least since maverick presidential candidate Ross Perot brought up the supposed “giant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/business/economy/ross-perot-nafta-trade.html">sucking sound</a>” of jobs pulled to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/mexico">Mexico</a> by the Nafta trade agreement back in 1993.</p><p>They flourished under <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a>’s first presidency and his promise to <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-declares-era-of-americanism-in-trade-speech">restore jobs</a> lost to trade agreements. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden">Joe Biden</a>, too, put “rebuilding the backbone of America: manufacturing, unions and the middle class” at the center of his agenda. And in 2024, Trump reheated his old promise that “jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/14/trump-manufacturing-jobs-economy">Continue reading...</a>
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