Study: 'The Myth of America’s Manufacturing Renaissance'

[Natural Citizen]

The study focuses on hard numbers instead of anecdotal evidence.

Report - http://www2.itif.org/2015-myth-ameri...enaissance.pdf

Much of the growth since the recession’s lows was just a cyclical recovery instead of real structural growth that will improve long-term conditions, and there is a strong possibility that manufacturing will once again decline once domestic demand recovers.

Source - Information Technology & Innovation Foundation


Relevant reading - http://www.prosperousamerica.org/the...ays_new_report

“A lot of people are desperate for positive economic news, so articles suggesting that there’s a revival of manufacturing get a lot of traction.”

“It’s true that we’ve had four straight years of growth, and that we’ve added 520,000 jobs in manufacturing in the last three years,” says Nager. But that compares to 2.5m jobs lost between 2007 and 2009. Moreover, he adds, the dramatic turnaround of the auto industry has distorted those figures.

[Natural Citizen]

//

The feel good data that I was just reading in the BRICs thread reminded me of this. Is kind of funny how we create data in order to stimulate our need to think everything is a-okay. Heh...

[heavenlyboy34]

Massaging numbers is nothing new. Figures don't lie, but liars do figure.

[Zippyjuan]

It is true that we don't have as many manufacturing jobs as we once did. But it is also untrue that things have not been improving in recent years (since 2010).




http://static4.businessinsider.com/i...g%20jobs-1.png

[Natural Citizen]

Dammit, Zip. You just made me choke on my pineapple. Gosh. I'm choking over here.

I don't know, man. Looks like a little blip there at the end. Heh.

[Zippyjuan]

I usually cut up my pineapple. Too hard to eat whole. Hope you are OK!

[Natural Citizen]

I usually cut up my pineapple. Too hard to eat whole. Hope you are OK!

Yeah, I had it cut into chunks. The juice just went down the wrong pipe when I got to chuckling. Thanks, Zip.

[Madison320]

Dammit, Zip. You just made me choke on my pineapple. Gosh. I'm choking over here.

I don't know, man. Looks like a little blip there at the end. Heh.

That cracked me up!

The bottom line is that if our manufacturing was improving we'd see it in the trade deficit.

[Natural Citizen]

That cracked me up!

The bottom line is that if our manufacturing was improving we'd see it in the trade deficit.

Zip gets a bad rap around here, I think. He is one of those people that I can debate and not ever log off annoyed. He never attacks anyone with ad-hominem or tries to turn debate into false political paradigms or any of that.

That report in the op is pretty good, though. As was mentioned, it focuses on hard numbers instead of anecdotal evidence.

[Zippyjuan]

That cracked me up!

The bottom line is that if our manufacturing was improving we'd see it in the trade deficit.

If we increase manufacturing but at the same increase our imports, it may not show up in the trade deficit figures. Or we can manufacture more and buy up all the increased production domestically. Does not mean there was no increase in production and jobs. Slower economies in Europe have effected our exports to them. It is a two- way street. However,

http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-p...december-2013/

U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks to Lowest Level Since December 2013

he U.S. trade gap narrowed in November to its lowest level in nearly a year because falling prices and weaker demand for foreign oil pushed down imports despite record inbound shipments of consumer goods.

The trade deficit fell 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted $39 billion in November from the prior month's deficit of $42.25 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The reading marks the smallest deficit since December 2013. October's deficit was revised from an initially reported $43.43 billion.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a trade deficit of $42 billion in November.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-0...ts-dry-up.html

Smaller Trade Gap Puts U.S. on Stronger Growth Path: Economy

By Michelle Jamrisko Jan 7, 2015 1:49 PM PT 90 Comments Email Print

The smallest trade deficit of the year in November and increased company hiring last month provided hints the U.S. economy is rising above a global slowdown -- a notion that will be tested in two days by new readings on job creation and unemployment.

The trade gap, or the difference in the value of imports and exports, shrank 7.7 percent to $39 billion, the smallest since December 2013, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Private employment increased by 241,000 in December after a 227,000 gain the prior month, according to data from Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute.

A plunge in oil prices and rising U.S. fuel production are helping trim imports, swamping record American demand for foreign-made consumer goods while sales overseas slacken. Economists at Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley were among those raising fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product forecasts as a result.

“Growth right now is just really strong, and the U.S. is on pretty solid footing,” said Michael Gapen, the New York-based chief U.S. economist at Barclays, who raised the tracking estimate for the quarter’s GDP to a 3.5 percent annualized rate after the trade report from 2.7 percent.

But do note that much of this is due to falling prices for oil.

[Madison320]

Zip gets a bad rap around here, I think. He is one of those people that I can debate and not ever log off annoyed. He never attacks anyone with ad-hominem or tries to turn debate into false political paradigms or any of that.

That's true he never stoops to name calling but I don't see how you can debate him. He rarely answers straight forward questions.

[Natural Citizen]

That's true he never stoops to name calling but I don't see how you can debate him. He rarely answers straight forward questions.

Maybe. That's probably why Zip doesn't bother me, though. If you think about it, straight forward questions demand straight forward answers. And there simply is no such thing as a straight forward answer. Well..unless we want to try to keep it straight forward. But then that usually keeps us focused on minimal aspects that often end up irrelevant.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Zip gets a bad rap around here, I think. He is one of those people that I can debate and not ever log off annoyed. He never attacks anyone with ad-hominem or tries to turn debate into false political paradigms or any of that.
.

NC,

Doesn't it strike you odd that somebody would post on a forum for 8 years and never, ever make a single liberty post? Doesn't it strike you odd that the same person would not disclose his voting choice when asked? Does it strike you odd that this person declines a simple question as to why he's on this forum? Is it odd to you that such a contrary person does not resemble the usual forum troll in any way, shape, or form?

Do you honestly think that such a person would engage every day on a forum for eight years, never make a liberty post, make posts that are always contrary, and never say why he's here just because he's interested in some genuine and polite discourse with you?