Comments by "Daniel Larson" (@daniellarson3068) on "What does America Produce?" video.

Nope - "Consumer goods are not made in despotic countries." Then he names China, the world's manufacturer. Sure there's stuff made here. You can't move the farmland overseas. What you can do is have automation and imported less expensive labor to work that farmland. Maybe not altogether good. Nearly all consumer items are made elsewhere. All TVs are made elsewhere. Refrigerators, stoves and washer dryers are very often made elsewhere. The United States recorded a trade deficit of 67.43 USD Billion in January of 2024. This indicates the wealth of the country is leaving. With modern digital electronics more and more jobs are outsourced. Visit some of the rust belt cities in the Midwest and talk about what they used to make here. Economists drink the Kool Aid of free trade but forget the enormous externalities when a factory is closed. Sure, there's still goods and services manufactured and performed here, but the quantity is diminishing. It will continue to diminish unless we modify the rules of trade to favor the people in the country. It seems more often than not they now favor only the rich capitalists of this second gilded age.
3
@EconLessons Why is the choice limited to going backwards? Can't we go forward with a modified set of economic rules that favor the multitudes? The fact that people who work full time cannot afford housing is disturbing. Some say the system is rigged. Let's re-rig it to maximize the common good.
1
@28pbtkh23 Yes - Steel buildings are cheap to construct. No reason some sort of public housing can't be constructed. This housing could be rugged and basic.
1
@EconLessons Right - There is more to the world than the production and consumption of goods. There is the quality of life.
1