Comments

Amen Brother! This is common sense that evades the big brain people in D.C.

The "leaders" feel that manufacturing is unsafe, ecologically damaging and not economically advantageous for the workers. They think the industry hasn't advanced since the days of Oliver Twist.

Mr. Campbell,

I totally agree with your article. These segments to product and manufacturing go hand and hand. It is so important for us to design, build, and service. We have become a nation of consumers, instead of builders. Our country was based on innovations and doers as I call them chefs, instead of eaters. If you think about it Chefs created meals and customers consumed the meals. All depends how good a chef you are and how good your product is, lately all we have are people waiting to consumed the meals and not get in the kitchen and cook.

Kudos to you.

Vince Thanthanavong

The author is spot on. The sun sets quickly on empires that lose track of what is important. Once celebrities, lawyers, and polititicans either make themsleves more important than, or become more revered by society at large than those making things, its game over.
Sound familiar? Look around

I maintain that there are only three ways to create wealth in society, Mining, Agriculture, and Manufacturing. So where do we want to be? A service based society and work on other peoples stuff?

Yes, the comment is fully valid.

Thank you Kieth for your professional site.

I currently work in the Brazilian manufacturing sector. We see today this segment in trouble. The manufacturing sector is decreasing. Desindustrialization is evident. Brazilian companies are pressed not only by chinese. In the segment I work for (Equipment for the Printing and Converting for paper, films, foils, textiles, rubber, etc.) we face a lot of competition from European Companies that due to the recession in Europe, come to Brazil "to buy market", with prices extremely low (just to keep their factories running in Europe). Additionally, they come with financing from strugling European Banks. In Brazil the manufacturing is suffering and is decreasing year-to-year. But this is a subject that a few lines will just touch the tip of the iceberg. The country has other infra-structure and taxation problems that penalize a lot the manufacturing sector. I firmly agree that a country cannot grow without a solid manufacturing industry.

Thanks for your piece on Manufacturing is Crucial Keith. Well done!

I do agree with the basic thought, but I miss something.
Making things is in itsself not the core issue.
The way we live is the result of a continuous search for improvement of the quality of life, for ourselves, for our children.
Those improvements generally consist in what I call "helps". machines, devices, etc that make life simpler, more secure, more comfortable.
All these machines, devices, but also services are designed by ENGINEERS. And everything that is invented has to be made, whether it is a physical unit or a service.
Production therefore can be seen as the realisation of all these inventions and ideas to improve our life.
Without production we don't have to invent, and if we don't produce, we don't need to service them.
Make everyone aware that we live the way we do because engineers thought how to make all these gadgets, ways to produce more food etc. Engineers make the production of these items and services possible.
Without technology we are back at the stone age.
Engineers should be viewed as the enablers of todays life.
Give engineering the credit and enjoy being part of the process.

Anyone with half a brain realizes what has happened to the US. Making things for sale (manufacturing) has migrated to other countries due to the greed of large Corporations. This is due in part to the greed of Wall Street investors who have required corporations to report every how much profit accrues every 2 months. In contrast, if you operate in the Far East or in Europe, labor costs are lower and you have to account for operations only once per year (and sometimes biannually). The large corporations have managed to get laws passed via the Republican Party so that they no longer pay any taxes in the US. I say get rid of the Republication Party and take back
Washington for the people. In order to sell in the US, a company should be required to manufacture goods (not services) in a central location and to pay a fair share of taxes.