United States has lost 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000

[girl gone mad]

26. Short answer?

Nurses, doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. don't engage in the type of economic activity which increases our nation's overall wealth. Their work amounts to passing the same money back and forth within the economy, with no net increase in financial assets.

When a manufacturer takes raw materials and builds a finished good which we can sell to a foreign nation, they increase the amount of wealth in the economy.

The problem with relying on a service-based economy and subsequently running a trade deficit is that in order to achieve our desired level of economic growth, we've adopted a really destructive dependence on financial debt and asset bubbles, which amounts to a giant Ponzi scheme.

There are other problems with our heavy reliance on foreign manufacturing. We are losing our ability to make the things we need and want. I suggest you read up on why German manufacturers are so reluctant to shift production overseas. What the Germans understand is that innovation follows production. I want to keep this short so I will leave it at that.