The manufacturing jobs are not coming back.

[Hugabear]

Let me preface this by saying that manufacturing jobs are not going to come back under the current system of "free trade" agreements.

Over the past two decades, we've watched as more and more companies shift their manufacturing jobs overseas, to take advantage of cheap labor. We've also witnessed as companies purchase cheap foreign goods rather than more expensive domestic products. Corporations are obligated to turn as much profit as possible - not just for themselves, but for their shareholders. Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to save money is to cut your workforce or take advantage of cheap overseas labor markets. I have personally witnessed this myself over the past few years, as a company I used to work for began buying more and more of their component items from China.

I just don't see how we're going to get these manufacturing jobs back. Sure, many companies may start reporting bigger profits, and it may appear as if the economy is recovering. But as others have mentioned, it is likely to be a jobless recovery. The gap between the upper and lower classes will continue to grow. Yes, there will be more jobs created, but I'm afraid many of these will be lower-paying, non-skilled, most likely non-union, service oriented jobs.