When President Obama says we will “avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism” I hear “We are not going to encourage the creation of any new American manufacturing or jobs”.
Maybe he *has* to say such things to keep the world economies stable. But the unhealthy thinness, the one-dimensionality of American economic infrastructure reserves, is one of the reasons we have proven so vulnerable to economic fluctuations. And there are other issues as well, as noted by H. Ross Perot:
Manufacturing is vitally important for this reason: without the ability to manufacture, the US cannot defend itself. Manufacturing is important because it provides the greatest number of high-paying US jobs. These are the types of jobs that US workers need if they are to buy a house, build a retirement nest egg, and create a better future for themselves.
Manufacturing is our history, it is in our very soul. Our country did not really begin to grow until we started manufacturing machines that made manufacturing machines. “Protectionist” or not, we need to bring manufacturing back to our country. To quote Perot again:
“We cannot defend this great country unless we can manufacture,” he said. “Can you imagine what would happen if we had to go to the rest of the world and ask for materials?”