Nineteen Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

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Gavin Allan

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Nineteen Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind



The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II.



But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America . Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children?



Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America goes into more debt and every single month America gets poorer.



So what happens when the debt bubble pops?



The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them.



For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.



The following are 19 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind....



#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001.. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.



#2 Dell Inc., one of America 's largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.



#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem , North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.



#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States ? Zero.



#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.



#6 As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.



#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.



#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.



#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.



#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.



#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.



#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.



#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.



#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.



#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.



#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.



#17 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .



#18 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.



#19 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.



So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it?



How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands?



How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?



How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide?



The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.



If you disagree with this article, I have a direct challenge for you. If anyone can explain how a deindustrialized America has any kind of viable economic future, please do so below in the comments section.



America is in deep, deep trouble folks. It is time to wake up

 
Keep buying imported cars and support those that offshore our jobs.



I got a call from ebay today. It was an Indian guy with an absolutly aweful accent to the point it was impossible to understand what he was saying. After two minutes of getting his butt chewed out by me about his accent, he hung up on me.



Anytime I get call from India from my bank, I will continue to chew them out. I am taking my stand against this cancer to the USA.



I will keep buying my cars made in the USA by Americans. I will continue to buy as much American made goods as I can and I will continue to drop my support from companies that outsource my jobs to other countries.



I don't care about all the "resuidule" I will miss out on. My "residule" is doing my part to keep my neighbor, friends, and family employed here in the USA where I live.





Tom
 
That's why my wife decided on the Alabama-made, American-designed Honda Pilot instead of the Mexican-made PT Cruiser my wife originally wanted.
 
Or you could have purchased an American built, American designed, and American owned Ford Escape instead.





Tom
 
Yawn.



The family farmers cried and feared during the agri-revolution that all but supplanted them.



The agri-industry cried and feared during our countries' move to a manufacturing power post the industrial revolution.



Our de-industrialization started decades ago with our shift towards offshore production of durable goods (textiles led the way).



There is nothing to fear but fear itself. We got to the point where we needed less farmers and more factory workers. We survived. We got to the point where we needed fewer factory workers and more professionals. We survived (remember the mid 90s, mid 2000s...great times). We now need even more professionals, more engineers, more scientists, more knowledge workers for our de-industrialized nation.



The only thing to fear is if you or your kids are too lazy, too unmotivated, or let's face it, just too darn stupid to move towards these new types of jobs (that is not a jab, but a rallying call).



There was a fear that Jethro wouldn't be able to make the transition from the farm to the factory, but he did.



If there is a will, there is a way.



The days of just getting by in high school, of not going to college, of getting paid well to "put tops on bottoms" is over, folks. It was good while it lasted, but now it's time to WORK SMARTER, not HARDER.



Yeah, I know...there are those of you that think desk jobs aren't for you. You think those types of professional jobs are for sissies. Well, that's okay. Keep thinking that. You can enter early retirement. I hear cat food makes a nice meat loaf.



For the rest of you...learn, evolve, be part of the solution.





Putting on my asbestos suit...







Oh, and until recently the first-gen Escape was mostly foreign made/assembled. Wasn't until the 2nd gen in 2007 that production was moved to America.



Merry Christmas!



TJR
 
"Keep buying imported cars and support those that offshore our jobs."

OK, will do, i have no plans on stopping. but it also supports the American economy.



"Anytime I get call from India from my bank, I will continue to chew them out. "

don't hate the player ! maybe you have an accent he doesn't understand :bwahaha:



"I will continue to buy as much American made goods as I can and I will continue to drop my support from companies that outsource my jobs to other countries."

i am sure that there are more then 50% of the items in your house that were manufactured overseas. you just don't know about it.



"Or you could have purchased an American built, American designed, and American owned Ford Escape instead."

i got one for sale, 08 XLT, mint ! :grin:







 
TJR- if we "got to the point where we needed less farmers and more factory workers", can you tell me why the US Department of Agriculture is the largest federal agency in terms of # of employees and amount of office square feet? Why do we subsidize agriculture so much?



BTW: The point of the article is that we do not "make" or "grow" anything anymore. That is how a country stays wealthy- either they have an abundant natural resource that no one else has ( think oil) or they create THINGS to sell to other countries. We come up with ideas, but ideas and knowledge can be quickly replicated and adopted by other countries.



 
Gavin, The size of the dept of agri has more to due with politics and lobbyists than our agri business.





Still, agri is still big biz in the US today...just fewer people doing it.



We still grow and make stuff in the U.S. There are just fewer people doing those things.



It's called progress.



Evolve or die. Our most abundant natural resource for the future has to become our intelligent, inventive professional.



TJR
 
Globalization is not good for the average American worker. It tends to benefit the wealthy. Outsourcing our jobs and companies is "social warfare" in my book. The American standard of living in the 50's was the envy of the world. We had the best Scientists, the best schools, the best of everything. Not to be excluded, was a VIBRANT middle class. All the result of the American blue-collar worker. Now...not so much.



Boiling it down, I can say this...Should America LOWER its standard of living to meet the rest of the world, or should we RAISE the rest of the world to our standard? Mind you, either path still results in global dominance for the good ole USA. Political affiliation wont play a part in this debate. (actually there is no debate...there is only one answer)



Happy Holidays
 
Oh, and until recently the first-gen Escape was mostly foreign made/assembled. Wasn't until the 2nd gen in 2007 that production was moved to America.



The first generation Escape was built in Avon Lake, Ohio and Claycomo, Missouri.



The second generation Escape is built in Claycomo, Missouri.



The third generation Escape will be built in __________, KY.



The Escape was also built in other countries for foreign markets. Rest assured, the 1st Generation Escape WAS built in the USA.



We come up with ideas, but ideas and knowledge can be quickly replicated and adopted by other countries.



You mean like when China steals intellectual property and sells it and has protection by their country?



The USA will deliver pizza's to financial freedom.





Tom
 
I don't think the Escape is a direct comparison to the Pilot. Both nice cars, The pilot is more like a 7 passenger Explorer. Can either hold people or cargo...



Frank!!! Good post, Merry Christmas!!!
 
So the Explorer was made in Louisville, KY and St. Louis, MO by a company based in the USA.



Honda CR-V or Honda Pilot. Still foreign cars.





Tom
 
Evolve or die. Our most abundant natural resource for the future has to become our intelligent, inventive professional.



Not good news for our country when our students academic achievement is ranked #26 as compared to other industrialized nations.
 
The American standard of living in the 50's was the envy of the world



The American standard of living in 2010 is still the envy of the world.



I have to agree with TJR on this one. Make yourself employable. Don't complain that the one job you were good at left the country. Make yourself worth something to another business.



Evolve or die. Our most abundant natural resource for the future has to become our intelligent, inventive professional.





Not good news for our country when our students academic achievement is ranked #26 as compared to other industrialized nations.



This is the biggest threat to our country, not factory jobs leaving.



But I do think we could keep our manufacturing jobs if our government would allow it/make it more profitable for companies to stay here. I don't blame companies for leaving the country, I blame Washington for pushing them away.
 
get over it. we make nothing anymore.

it is more cost efficent to outsourse.

adapt to change. this is no longer 1970.

oh and why is it that all the high school kids i see excelling and getting major scholarships/awards are from non USA native backgrounds?.

btw, i went to walmart today in my toyota and dropped a nice piece of change :banana:
 
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Prove it to me that the Escape was imported until 2007. I know for a fact that the Escape was made in Avon Lake, Ohio. In case you have forgotten, my father worked for Ford and Ohio is my resident state.



Look up Escape VIN's. If they start with a 1, which they do, they are built in the USA.



I just looked on autotrader.com and the first 10 2001 Escape VIN's sarted with a 1. Prove the Escape was imported until 2007.





Tom
 
Caymen,



Like I said, take a look at wikipedia's Escape entry. Feel fee to update it if it is inaccurate. That is the power of wikipedia...accuracy through the masses.



P.S. I never said imported. Just said mostly assembled abroad...which is a matter of opinion I guess. Again, check the wikipedia entry.



TJR
 
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