There’s a lot of angst over the idea that China may someday exceed the US in manufacturing. First I say, “Not likely. ” Then I say, “So what?”
I remember hearing Donald Trump say during the 2012 presidential campaign, “We don’t make anything here anymore.” That’s the voice of an idiot politician. But I’m being redundant. As of January 2013, the USA is the largest manufacturing country in the world with an annual output of $1.8 Trillion. Admittedly, Obama wants to spend that much next year on his own taxpayer-funded vacations as part of the next stimulus package, but that’s a lot of stuff being made here. China only does $1.1 trillion, so they have a way to go to catch up.
With all the crying about lost manufacturing jobs you’d think there must be no way to create wealth anymore. But really, would it be so bad if the USA eventually stopped being the manufacturing giant of the world? Consider that everything, everything, that starts out nearly impossible to duplicate ends up becoming a commodity as efficiencies develop from new technologies. Manufacturing ability is already moving toward commodity status. In the no-so-distant future, people will likely have 3D printers on their desks, allowing them to make almost every thing they need. Let the Democrats try to pander to the unions then. (No wonder the only life left in the union movement is for government workers. They aren’t subject to the normal laws of economics.)
What is the real source of wealth in a world where everything eventually becomes a commodity?
IDEAS
We can live with China becoming the next manufacturing giant. But if we lose the battle over who has the most actionable ideas then there will be something to cry about because there will be no path to American wealth then.
So don’t worry about American manufacturing. I suggest that you hone up on your skills of creating ideas if you want to stay in the middle class. And while you’re at it you will have to protect those ideas with patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Because without the protection afforded by legally transforming your ideas into Intellectual Property those unprotected ideas can (and likely will) be stolen. But as property rights exist today, protected Intellectual Property is still private property.
Of course, you might have to worry that Obama will decide to issue an executive order confiscating all your private property, even your protected ideas, as part of his wealth distribution schemes. But that is the subject of a different post.