Manufacturing Nostalgia: Why Trump's Industrial Revival Is an Economic Illusion

 How do we explain Trump’s push to make America a manufacturing country again when we long planned to be a service economy—and automation is set to take most manufacturing jobs anyway?

Donald Trump Patron Saint of Economic Collapse

Trump’s push to "make America a manufacturing powerhouse again" is based on nostalgia for an era that no longer exists rather than economic reality. Here’s why:

1. The U.S. Shifted to a Service Economy for a Reason

   • Since the late 20th century, the U.S. intentionally transitioned to a service-based economy (finance, tech, healthcare, entertainment) because manufacturing labor is cheaper overseas and services generate more wealth in a developed nation.
   • Manufacturing jobs peaked in the 1970s and have steadily declined, not just because of outsourcing, but also because of automation and efficiency improvements.

2. Manufacturing Jobs Aren't Coming Back in Large Numbers

   • Even when Trump imposed tariffs to bring back U.S. manufacturing, companies didn’t massively rehire workers—instead, they invested in automation to keep costs low.
   • The industries that did return (like steel) saw only short-term gains, and many of those jobs disappeared again due to trade wars and global competition.

3. Robots and AI Are the Future of Manufacturing

   • Even if factories return, they won’t create millions of blue-collar jobs—they’ll use automation, AI, and robotics to cut labor costs.
   • Example: Modern car plants use a fraction of the workers they did decades ago, with robots doing much of the assembly work.

4. The Real Economic Future Is in Innovation, Not Nostalgia

   • The strongest job growth today is in AI, software development, healthcare, and renewable energy, not traditional factory work.
   • If the goal is long-term economic strength, focusing on education, R&D, and advanced technology makes more sense than trying to recreate a 1950s-style industrial economy.

Trump's "manufacturing revival" is mostly a political slogan that appeals to nostalgia but ignores economic reality. The real battle isn’t bringing back old factory jobs—it’s preparing for a future where automation and AI dominate.

Even if President Trump achieves favorable outcomes in his trade disputes, the broader consequences may include increased consumer prices, economic growth challenges, and strained international relations.

While intended to protect domestic industries, tariffs often lead to higher costs for imported goods, which can be passed on to consumers. This results in increased prices for everyday items, affecting household budgets.

PBS

Furthermore, trade tensions can disrupt global supply chains, leading to reduced efficiency and higher production costs for businesses. This economic uncertainty may dampen investment and slow overall economic growth.

Reuters

The imposition of tariffs has also led to retaliatory measures from trading partners, affecting U.S. exports and potentially resulting in job losses in export-dependent industries. Studies have estimated significant job losses due to these trade policies.

Brookings Institution

Even if specific trade disputes are resolved favorably, the broader implications of such protectionist policies may include economic challenges, higher consumer prices, and strained international relationships.

FYI, there have been multiple reports of attacks on Tesla dealerships and vehicles in recent months. These incidents appear to be part of a broader protest movement against Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, particularly in response to his political affiliations and actions within the Trump administration.

America should be moving toward a future-focused economy that prioritizes innovation, adaptability, and workforce development rather than clinging to outdated industrial models. Here’s the ideal direction:

1. Embrace Automation & AI—But Prepare the Workforce

• Instead of resisting automation, we should invest in AI and robotics while ensuring workers are trained for high-tech jobs in maintenance, programming, and oversight.
• Expand vocational training, apprenticeships, and STEM education to help workers transition from traditional manufacturing to advanced tech fields.

2. Strengthen the Service & Knowledge Economy

• The biggest drivers of economic growth are healthcare, software, AI, finance, biotech, and renewable energy—sectors that require skilled labor and continuous innovation.
• Investing in education, R&D, and digital infrastructure will keep America competitive.

3. Reshore Critical Industries, But Smartly

• Instead of forcing mass manufacturing back, focus on reshoring key industries (like semiconductors, green energy, and medical supplies) using automation and high-skilled labor to remain cost-effective.
• Partner with allies and trading partners to ensure supply chain security without unnecessary trade wars.

4. Prioritize Green Energy & Sustainability

• The future economy will be shaped by renewable energy, battery technology, and climate adaptation industries—not coal and oil.
• Investing in solar, wind, and electric vehicles creates sustainable, high-paying jobs and reduces dependence on foreign energy sources.

5. Support Small Businesses & Entrepreneurship

• Rather than just propping up mega-corporations, policies should make it easier for startups and small businesses to thrive through better access to funding, reduced red tape, and fairer tax policies.
• Encourage innovation by incentivizing research, patents, and new tech development.

6. Improve Infrastructure & Digital Connectivity

• A modern economy needs modern infrastructure—high-speed internet, updated transportation systems, and smart cities.
• Expanding broadband to rural areas ensures that economic growth isn’t limited to major metropolitan hubs.

The Bottom Line

America shouldn’t try to recreate a 1950s-style economy but instead prepare for a tech-driven, globally connected future. The focus should be on innovation, adaptability, and workforce development—not outdated nostalgia.

Compiled with aid of ChatGPT

What IS Trump selling?

 What is Trump selling through his MaGA concept/contempt?

Memories. The Past.

What are the rest of us involved in?

Life, reality, progress.

It is in THAT gap between, wherein Trump has weaponized reality against US all.

All "that" IS our lives.

Not the past.

Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) concept taps into nostalgia for a perceived better past. It suggests that this longing for the past can overshadow the realities and challenges of the present and future. Here’s a breakdown:

Trump’s Selling Point: 

Nostalgia – MAGA is centered around a romanticized vision of a past that many see as simpler or better. This focus on “the past” can evoke strong emotional responses and a sense of identity tied to bygone times, which can be potent in political messaging.

The Present and Future – In contrast, being “involved in life, reality, and progress” involves addressing current issues and preparing for the future. This often requires confronting uncomfortable truths and working towards change, which can be more complex and less immediately gratifying than nostalgia.

The Weaponization of Reality – By leveraging a nostalgic view of the past, Trump can create a narrative that frames current realities as problems to be solved by returning to an idealized previous state. This can be seen as a way to weaponize reality, turning it into a battleground between the idealized past and the challenging present.

The Gap – The difference between a nostalgic vision of the past and the reality of the present. This gap can create a disconnect, where solutions based on outdated views might not address current complexities effectively.

By focusing on the past, Trump’s narrative can sideline the more nuanced and necessary engagement with the present and future. This dynamic is a powerful tool in shaping political discourse and public perception.

It is counterintuitive and counterproductive. But it gives Trump and MaGA leadership, power. It leads to an imbalance as power must come from somewhere. Which is where the rest of us come in.

Donald Trump is actually a very poor debater. But he seems to win debates. Why?

That phenomenon is often referred to as "rhetorical manipulation" or "demagoguery." These terms describe tactics that sway audiences not through structured argumentation, facts, or reasoning, but by exploiting emotions, distractions, or other forms of persuasion that deviate from traditional debate norms. Some of the tactics Trump has used in this context include:

• Ad hominem attacks: Attacking the opponent personally rather than addressing their arguments.
• Appeals to emotion: Using fear, anger, or pride to rally support.
• False equivalence: Presenting two unequal things as though they were comparable.
• Gish gallop: Overwhelming the opponent with numerous rapid claims, many of which may be false or misleading, making it difficult for them to respond.

These strategies can allow someone to "win" a debate in the eyes of an audience without adhering to the logical structure typically expected in formal debate.

There is more involved in all this mess we've been led into today. Things that MaGA and Trump are pushing so hard into the Republican Party that they are no longer the once "Grand Old Party", the GOP they once were.

And it began long ago...

Did you know, Rutherford B. Hayes’ decision to remove federal troops from the South in 1877 played a significant role in shaping race relations in America and has lasting implications. When Hayes withdrew the troops, it effectively ended Reconstruction and allowed Southern states to enact Jim Crow laws, which institutionalized racial segregation and disenfranchisement of Black citizens.

This set the stage for nearly a century of oppressive policies, including limited voting rights and economic inequality, that continued to fuel racial tensions well into the 20th century and still resonate today.

The removal of federal protection for ex-slaves led to widespread violence and intimidation, often perpetrated by groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which sought to maintain white supremacy. Many of these groups, or the broader movement they represent, have ideological ties to today’s problematic militias, which see themselves as defenders of a particular social order.

Back then, “gun clubs” and paramilitary groups often formed to protect white interests, especially as federal oversight waned. Some of the anti-government militias seen today claim lineage from these 19th-century movements, though modern militias are more fragmented and diverse in their motivations.

Turning out backs on these militias, ignoring their misrepresentation of the 2nd Amendment, esp,. in modern times has allowed a counter narrative to grow into a political entity that has set the stage for some very untenable and ridiculous beliefs, infecting a major political party.

1991 interview on The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour Chief Justice Warren E. Burger: “The gun lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud — I repeat the word ‘fraud’ — on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies — the militias — would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires.”

In short, Hayes' decision to end Reconstruction gave rise to segregationist policies and violent white supremacist groups that evolved into organizations that still influence race relations and militia culture today.

Had Hayes not been president, perhaps today the bigotry and racism would be far, far less apparent. We are a nation of mixed cultures. We can work together. We can be pulled together by our similarities, rather than praise politicians and religious leaders who sell us on division and irritation, fanned into fear and hate, all for their personal agendas and success.

We can do better. Obviously.

Cheers! Sláinte!

Walkabout Thoughts #77

Thoughts & Stream of Consciousness, rough and ready, from an award-winning filmmaker and author you’ve never heard of, while walking off long Covid, and listening to podcasts…

...walking day is 5/22/2024 (I would have had this out sooner, I just forgot about it and got wrapped up in watching the Kevin Spacey doc, and the 2 parts of The Jinx, and associated "All Good Things" film that I thought was better than its ratings).

 
Weather for the day… starting out, 56° cloudy, cool starting out 59° when I got home at noon.

Podcast WTF? Marc Maron Episode 1540 - Daniel Stern.

Then, Pod Save America, Ep., Trump Promises "A Unified Reich"

So, a little cool today. This week I noticed I’m not really feeling long Covid anymore. A few days ago I had a couple of glasses of wine with spaghetti for lunch. After a day's break from alcohol, I then had the rest of it with lunch yesterday

But I’m noticing a core feeling of feeling good. Like I’m feeling healthy again in spurts, every once in a while, a few times a day, a flash of better health. Just this deep feeling of...normal. Today is the day, it's been six weeks since I had a 3 day course of Paxlovid for my 3rd Covid infection. So I’m hoping it stays this way.

It was really hard to do the 1st mile today. At the beginning of every walk lately, there’s a... I don’t know, a tightness maybe, in my chest? After the first half mile or so it goes away. Not sure what that is. I think it’s a lack of exercise.

I’m now finishing my 3rd mile, after my first I didn’t feel like doing another mile. But I'd like to do 5 miles today.

I was really sick of this past winter and I’m really tired of this spring so far. Another week or two and this weird schizophrenic weather should settle down into summer, or so it looks anyway.

I noticed there's one book in the free little library kiosk today. Really makes me wonder if somebody sketchy didn’t just take all the books one day and sell them at a used bookstore. Maybe hitting a bunch of kiosks on the same day. We have some meth addict types around. You can’t miss them when they’re lurking through the streets looking pretty bad and obviously casing cars and houses. 

On this podcast, it’s a pretty good one because just about everybody knows this character actor Daniel SternDaniel Stern (most famously from Joe Peschi's accomplice in "Home Alone"). His stories about who he’s worked with and how he got started are pretty fun and interesting, especially if you’re into film.

I realized I’m very good at and have skills for a couple of things that have been very handy in my life. I’m very good at taking some thing that’s "there" and seeing its weaknesses and gems within that need to be polished. And that’s really all writing is. I mean you have got to write that first draft. Even if it’s a shitty first draft, on the second go around you can fix that. Only a couple of times in my life have I written a first draft that was just unfixable.

I realized that’s kind of what I did with my kids in raising them. Trying to take what they had and helped them make it better, rather than force them into what I wanted them to be or think that they should be. Thought I do think a parent needs to do a little of that, too.

I do want to mention that Saturday or maybe it was Friday night, I was looking for something to watch and started the Lord of the Rings trilogy, extended edition, which is like four hours for each movie. When I finished that on Sunday, I started on The Hobbit and finished that yesterday. I think I'd forgotten the last 40 minutes of The Hobbit movie.

I realized that I first read The Hobbit 54 years ago. I was 14 in 10th grade in my first year of high school. My cousin, who went to a different school, was a year behind me even though we’re separated by only three months. My mother said when she found I could start 1st grade because of my birthdaite, that was it, I was starting school to give her a break at home.

My cousin had suggested I read this book she thought I would like, "The Hobbit". I had been reading books incessantly for years. I would get grounded a lot as a child and would just go to my room and pick up a book and I’m suddenly... not in my bedroom. 

Anyway, I started showing up early to school and would go into our theater on the balcony at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington and would sit there and read until the bell rang. When I finished that book and raved about it, she said, "Well, since you loved The Hobbit so much..." and she gave me Lord of the Rings to read. Which was a shock. Because I loved The naivete The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings was a starkly more grown-up book. But after I got into LOR, I eventually grew to love it.

Getting drizzled on every now and then. I have to say I like it a little cooler. When it’s too warm out anymore, when I used to love hiking in the heat… Probably because of my age now it doesn’t react on me very well. I figure 1 mile in this weather is like 2 miles miles when it’s 70 something.

On the podcast...it’s interesting to hear him talk about the movie "Diner" (1982). And what he has to say about Paul ReiserPaul Reiser on that and how the Director Barry Levinson almost tossed the script. But they ended up sitting and shooting for a month, the actors talking in the diner, kind of following Paul Reiser‘s lead, who just came up with great shit in the moment. Then when he saw the film, finally, he was surprised to see that most of the film was just them riffing at a diner while embedded within the plot.

Finally, at the end of the podcast, they get to the reason why he’s there, which is that he wrote a book: “Home and Alone”.

For some reason, I was just thinking about missed opportunities...I've mentioned before some of those in business/art. I'd written a mainframe word processing manual when I worked for University of Washington's MCIS that was successful at two major hospitals (the then UW Hospital, now UWMC and its associated Harvorview Medical Center both now UW Medicine). But Digital Equipment Corporation killed it, because I broke the cardinal sin of pointing out "bugs" in their software. they could be vindictive as their company slowly disintegrated back in the late 80s. 

But here I was thinking of romantic missed opportunities...

In the mid 80s I worked in Seattle at the Tower Video, Mercer Street store with Jeff AmentJeff Ament of Pearl JamPearl Jam. Back then he was with Green River. He was our media buyer. I’ve told the story before. Jeff turned his position over to me as I was taking that on additionally since I was also a supervisor and I lived with the manager. 

Mark and I had moved up from Tacoma Tower stores where we had worked at Tower Records together and then Tower Video when he opened it and I had just graduated from Western Washington University up north past Seattle in Bellingham, near the Canadian border. Mark began at Records while I was still in the USAF. 

I began at Tower Posters next-door to earn some extra money aside from my VA educational benefits check. I got my AA degree at Ft Steilacoom Community College (now Pierce College),  with full college accreditation which we knew it was headed toward when I was going there. It was rated the best Comm. Col. in the state then. After I graduated I was done. I was surprised I'd even gotten a college degree. My girlfriend was going to go to a university so I thought I'd tag along. I had also promised her I'd get her through college. So we moved up to Western in Bellingham.

Anyway, Jeff said he wanted make a real effort at being a musician. So he was quitting his Tower job. I’ve always wanted to see him play, but I wasn’t making much money and I had no money for a concert ticket to see his band. Which obviously I regret, now. I kept hoping he would say, "Hey if you want to come see the band, I’ll get you in." I would’ve definitely gone. But he was very humble and maybe too humble to think I might want to see his stupid band. Which is funny because he’ll never know how bad I wanted to see his band. Living with the manager I held a weird position in the store. People were intimidated by that. Which I eventually won people over. But it took a while.

Anyway, I went down the street from Tower at lunch one day to get a gyro at the Greek place up Mercer St., and had a Celebrator Doppelbock beer (a beer that always made me feel very good and happy).It some with a plastic goat on a string and I would tie them to my buttons. An employee one day confessed they could tell how easy going I'd be after lunch by how many goats were tied to my shirt. I stopped doing that.

When I returned from lunch that day, an employee came up to me and said, "Hey Jeff was here looking for you." I questioned him on that because it didn’t make sense. But he said, "Come on. I know Jeff and he was here looking for you. I told him you were at lunch and so he left." I was bummed. I'd always liked Jeff.

So there is an opportunity I will never know what the hell it was about. As I remember it most of us at Tower were partiers. But Jeff didn’t smoke weed and said he wasn’t into drugs and stuff. He wanted to be a serious musician and I always respected that and his desire to go on to be one and get somewhere. And I told him that the day he told me he was quitting, that "Of everybody who worked at our three tower stores, if anyone could make it, it would be him. He seemed touch deeply by that. He looked down and thought and then looked at me and said “I really, really appreciate that man. Thanks” and I told him, 'Well it’s true and I really believe it."

Another missed opportunity…

When I worked at Tower Posters this really attractive redhead started working there. Summertimes she would put on a bikini and at lunchtime go out and lie on her car good, on a blanket in the sun, in the big parking lot. It was kind of intimidating to the other girls who worked at the store who would complain about it. But  none of the guys who worked there had a problem with it.

Then I switched to Tower Records next door. One night she showed up on a late shift on a slow night and tried to talk me into driving her to Seattle to see a band at the Paramount Theatre.

I was living alone at the time. My girlfriend had gone to Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, south of Spokane.. She wanted to be a veterinarian but going through some things, being 18 and her firs time away from home. She was seeing guys and it kind of hurt. So we took a break from our relationship in order to possibly save our relationship. I'd been married and divorced, through the USAF. So I felt she just needed to get her freedom exercised if we were going to have a relationship at all. 

So that night that really good-looking redhead and I drove to Seattle. We park and go to the theatre and then she tells me we need tickets. I was like, "Wait, you brought me up here and you don’t have tickets?" Did I say she was really good-looking? So we (that is I) bought some from tickets from a scalper on the corner, two tickets I think were $20 (and left me nearly broke). I warned him, "If these are counterfeit, because I know that’s going around, I’m coming back for you." But he said, "No man they’re real," and he just seemed honest, so I bought them and we went inside and MotorheadMotorhead was playing. Lemmie, right there on stage. I didn't really know them at that time but at least I can say I was at one of their concerts and saw Lemmie on stage! All we saw was a sea of long black hair banging up and down in unison. Your traditional "headbangers" concert in 1981. I wasn’t as much into Motorhead then as I was somewhat more years later. But we just stood there in the back for about 15 minutes until she finally said, "Do you want to go? This really isn’t my taste of music." I wanted to stay, but I also really wanted to "get to know her better." So we left.

So I drive her home. I was having high hopes for us getting together that night. I know my girlfriend at a university far away was seeing other guys and I kind of wanted to build a buffer to that by dating some women myself. So when we got to her place, I walked her to her door when she said, "Thanks goodnight." Hey, I tried to talk my way in but it wasn't going to work. She was very cute and flirty, but it wasn't happening.

So I said goodnight and drove off. But I only got about a mile away when the car ran out of gas. I used to have that problem with that old 67 Impala beater. You had to guess about when the tank was actually empty and I never had much money. The days of putting a dollar or two in the tank, when gas was about about $1.19 a gallon.

I had grown up, first started driving in the early 70s when gas was around 30 cents a gallon. Good times in high school when you literally COULD search your couch for spare change that fell out of people's pockets and find enough to go for a drive. Now you seem to need to take a loan out for that. I went through the gas shortage years when the price bounced up to around a dollar a gallon. And people were not happy about it or OPEC.

So humiliated, I walked back to her place. She wasn’t buying that I ran out of gas. But I convinced her. Apparently, she and her younger sister lived with their dad and he was away on a business trip. She made me promise to stay in his bedroom. I was like, "Yeah fine whatever I just don’t wanna walk home at like midnight." So I got up the next morning and this extremely cute younger girl maybe 15(?) comes walking through and it’s her younger sister. They made me breakfast and I walked to the car and then walked to a gas station, got some gas and drove home.

Cut to that next year. My girlfriend had trouble with alcohol ("Wazzu" is a famous party school that Playboy that next year rated as a "professional party school that was not eligible for rating in their annual university party school rating", and she was up for two DUIs. Wazzu students would drive across the Idaho border where the drinking age went from 21 to 19. So her lawyer got her a deal and she moved home with me where I promised I would get her through the next three years of college. And I did. So we were then living together, and I’m working at night, and guess who shows up but the redhead. I'd always and since had a thing that I avoided redheads as "trouble". Good and fun trouble, but would ineventialy lead to not so great troubles. And I'm half Irish, so... 

So she shows up at work at Tower Records and wants me to go with her again. It seems obvious this is the night that I’m gonna get lucky with this woman. Finally. But too late.

I point out to her, "you’re too late. I live with my girlfriend now and I can’t do this. Had you gone for it last year it would have been an entirely different thing." That was painful. But I have self-respect so...I was polite and then went back to my cash register shift with my back to the giant glass pane window, front wall of Tower Records. I swear to God… I and another guy were at the register and it was a very slow night which didn't help things. As she sat in her car just outside the window behind me for a half hour, pouting and staring at me. Until finally I noticed, she had left. I never saw her again.

Missed opportunities…

Just switched over to Pod Save America because the WTF? podcast is over

We need to add some standards to our government requirements. Like you shouldn’t be able to be president if you’re convicted of a federal crime. I am for forgiveness, but with Trump...come on. 

And with the Supreme Court Justices there have to be ethics rules and with some fucking teeth.

OK, I did it. I made 5 miles again, finally! It’s been a while.

Two other things the podcast just mentioned. There’s a lot of Trump forcing his attorney's hands on his defense team and it’s pretty obvious because they keep doing things like asking for dismissal, which is just making them all look stupid.

And second, if you swap Biden in Trump‘s place for this trial and the shit Trump's pulled during his trial, the double standard would be obvious as Biden would be getting incessantly attacked because he's supposed to be the adult and actual law and order person between the two of them. Even though for decades, the Republican Party claimed to be THE party of law and order. Even though it’s actually just a party of toxic, capitalism and big business. Whatever...

On that note, I’ll bid you adieu…and leave you with that. 

It’s noon and time for lunch.

As always, I wish you all, all the greatest success and good health!
Just put in the time and effort for those successes.
Until next time!

Cheers! Sláinte!