Every weekday for as long as I lived in our house, my father awoke at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for his 7:00 a.m. shift at THE FACTORY. Occasionally, I would arise before he departed. He would be smoking a cigarette, finishing his last cup of coffee, and reading the newspaper. We wouldn’t talk much since I was interfering with his routine. At some point, he would look at the clock, gather his black lunchbox and Thermos, and be off. He would return around 3:30 each day.
I didn’t know what happened at THE FACTORY until one day my
mother explained that my dad made “wheels and brakes for airplanes.” She told
me this so I could answer the question if asked by the kids at school or anyone
else. My mother was not proud of my father’s job. She had married significantly
below her social standing. She probably told people company name, which was highly
respected, but was coy about him being a factory worker. I, however, was extremely
proud of my father’s vocation. I may not have understood why planes needed
wheels, but they needed to stop, and my dad made the brakes to stop them.
I was never inside THE FACTORY, but I did know what it looked like from the outside. Occasionally, in the summer, we would drive by THE FACTORY. My mom challenged me to locate my dad’s car in the crowded parking lot, more than a hundred yards from the highway. I was ecstatic the day I spotted it, and once I knew where he parked, it was easy to do.
Other than that, I didn’t think much about THE FACTORY, but
I should have. It was THE FACTORY that fed me, clothed me, and put the roof
over my head. It was THE FACTORY that provided a stable, middle-class
existence, allowing me to sleep soundly every night. It was THE FACTORY that
paid my college tuition, so, ironically, I never had to work a single day in a
factory. THE FACTORY was life-giving – from the day I was born until I moved
out at age 22.
Soon after I left, my father retired from THE FACTORY with
almost 40 years of service. He earned a gold watch for his time there, an
oddity for a factory worker. I still have the watch. I don’t know the intrinsic
value. That doesn't matter because it's not for sale at any price.
THE FACTORY was sold to another firm in 1987 to fend off a
corporate raider. THE FACTORY had a new owner again in 1996. In 2016, that
company closed THE FACTORY, and hundreds of workers lost their jobs. And
hundreds of children lost their life-giving force, and didn’t sleep soundly for
many nights. After more than 75 years of providing life-giving benefits to
thousands of people, THE FACTORY lay dead.
But the demise of THE FACTORY was not unique. U.S. factory
employment peaked at 19.5 million workers in 1979 and has declined by 34% to
around 12.8 million today. Thousands of factories have been shuttered, while
manufacturing continues to flourish around the world. Of course, there are
several reasons for the decline, such as productivity gains and technological
advancements. But that can’t fully explain a 34% decrease in the U.S., when
worldwide manufacturing increased at an estimated 135%.
A Resuscitation Attempt
Now, there is an attempt to stop the loss of manufacturing
jobs and actually increase the number of factories in the U.S. The critics howl
that the jobs are “gone for good” and will never return. Well, the one sure way
that will happen is to continue doing nothing. If you continue to sit idly by,
that 34% decrease will accelerate as the world's share of manufacturing
continues to increase. We have literally "done nothing” for over 30 years,
and that has gotten us to this point. This is the best argument for “doing
something” that you can find.
That something involves tariffs. Tariffs are criticized as
being ineffective and disruptive in every economic textbook. Of course, none of
the eggheads writing these textbooks have ever worked in a factory, and few
have relied on a factory for income. Politicians scream that tariffs are bad,
supported by lobbyist money generated from the importation of cheap goods.
Now we learn that almost every country already imposes its
own tariffs against U.S.-made goods. If tariffs are so bad, why are they used
so much? You can argue that tariffs contradict the principles of "free
trade." However, if no one is following the rules, then there are no
rules. You can argue for “fair trade”, but that
is also a myth. How is it fair to humanity when many products sold in this
country are produced by what is essentially “slave labor”? In a country where
we are still grappling with the impact of the plantations, which existed for purely
economic reasons, there are descendants of domestic slaves walking our streets
wearing shoes made by slaves overseas. How many things are wrong with that
picture?
There is no fair trade because every country is out for its
own best interest – it is what seems fair to them. Every country is fighting a
trade war. If you choose not to fight, you get slaughtered – and the U.S. was
getting decimated.
I’m not interested in all the analyses and commentaries on
how these awful tariffs won’t work. Most of these are heavily biased due to the
current hyper-politicized culture in which we live. They don’t really matter
much at this point, do they? The tariffs have already begun and will either work
or fail, regardless of the so-called experts’ opinions. It would be so much
better if these gurus would concentrate on how these tariffs might work to our
benefit instead of predicting economic calamity.
The tariffs are happening whether you approve of them or
not, and it doesn’t matter your political bent. Yes, support our team even if
you despise the quarterback.
If you are trying to create more factories in this country –
go for it! If you are trying to give opportunities for mothers and fathers to
provide better lives for their children - go for it with all your might. If you
are mildly successful, it will be worth it. If you are wildly successful, maybe
even THE FACTORY could live again.
I
