General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We romanticize manufacturing jobs when what we really miss are unions. [View all]TheFrenchRazor
(2,116 posts)more profitable than service type jobs, on average, and they are essential for national security. i can't believe that so few people here realize this. when you take a raw material, such as rocks or wood (or related materials) and through a manufacturing process, turn it into a finished a product, the potential for profitability is much greater than say, taking ground beef and turning it into a hamburger. the most basic raw materials have relatively little value in their natural state, but when turned into a useful, high-demand product, they can be worth many times their original cost, hence the potential for high profitability. an economy based on service industries is starting from a much lower lever of potential profitability, regardless of how these profits are shared with workers. yes, unions help with gaining workers their fair share of the profits, but that's a whole different issue. secondly, manufacturing is absolutely essential for national security on so many levels, it should hardly need mentioning; the US civil war showed exactly what happened to a "nation" that did not own and control its own means of production. in the final analysis, manufacturing is the basis of everything else, and an economy with no foundation will not be strong, regardless of how well it is managed.