2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I fear Democrats are laying the groundwork for future losses by refusing to learn from defeat [View all]LonePirate
(13,893 posts)They aren't and anyone who thinks so is an idiot.
Let's pretend economic conditions exist for a factory to reopen or to rebuild in Blue Collar City, Ohio. The owner of that factory will automate as much as possible in order to reduce labor expenses. That's economic reality, not the fantasy that the jobs will return.
Nate says the jobs are not coming back: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/manufacturing-jobs-are-never-coming-back/
MIT says the jobs are not coming back: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602869/manufacturing-jobs-arent-coming-back/
The Financial Times says technology is responsible for the jobs loss: https://www.ft.com/content/dec677c0-b7e6-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62
Fortune says automation is responsible for the job losses: http://fortune.com/2016/11/08/china-automation-jobs/
NPR did an interview with economist Michael Hicks and he says manufacturing jobs are lost mostly due to technology, not globalization: http://www.npr.org/2016/12/10/505079140/economist-says-manufacturing-job-loss-driven-by-advancing-technology-not-globali
Those jobs are never going to return due to technology/automation/robots and we should stop pretending that they will return.