The last administration saw more factories move offshore than any other since the late 1990s. Sleepy Joe is quietly bringing them back.



Former President Donald Trump popularized the slogan “Make America Great Again” and the acronym MAGA turned into a winning election campaign slogan in 2016. The slogan became so well-known that populist leaders around the world started to adopt it for their own election campaigns by substituting their nation’s name for America in the MAGA acronym.

However, there is a question worthwhile asking. Did Trump’s “MAGA” ambitions actually come to fruition during his term? 

Not really. President Trump’s time in office was marred by one controversy after another. And early this month, he was indicted with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.   

Paradoxically, his democratic successor has advanced in making America great again — reviving manufacturing in Middle America; increasing investments in vital infrastructure; improving the environment — without the inflammatory and incendiary language and run-ins with the media. 

Unlike the former president, Biden has avoided media appearances and instead focused on walking the talk. As a matter of fact, Biden’s term in office could go down in history as the one with the least number of presidential press briefings. 

Nevertheless, Biden’s administration’s legacy will also be that it revived the American spirit without splitting the social fabric at the seams. The administration’s “America first” agenda is evident through its legislations such as the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that have allocated funds and offered subsidies to stimulate investments, particularly in the infrastructure and renewable energy sector. Based on Financial Times reports, the policies have already led to over $200 million in investment plans by chip and renewable energy manufacturing companies.    

In the mid-1990s, from critical mineral processing to chip manufacturing, the U.S. was a leader with a significant share of manufacturing. Fast forward to 2023, the U.S. has lost out to China, and even to its East Asian partners such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan in chip manufacturing.   

Through industrial policies, Biden is reviving the economic glory of the 90s by reshoring American manufacturing. Biden’s supply chain review, followed by successive legislative wins, has empowered his administration to execute policies that strengthen America’s manufacturing base.   

Notably, as feared by most economists, this manufacturing renaissance does not pull America back to the 90s with respect to technology, or global engagement. It is not a withdrawal from globalization but a redrawing of the global trade architecture that over the last two decades elevated China to a leadership position in the hierarchical network of global value chains. 

By addressing the policy pitfalls of his predecessors — such as offshoring manufacturing to China and East Asia and failing to address the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure and the environment — while simultaneously laying the pathway for America’s transition to renewable energy, Biden is pulling Middle America and all of America forward. And interestingly, Biden’s manufacturing push has channeled more investments to Republican and swing states than Democratic states. 

Celebrating Earth Day, Biden signed an order expanding the provisions of his environmental justice plan by putting in place measures to address and prevent disproportionate and adverse pollution and climate change impacts on communities. This builds on his administration’s efforts to protect communities while rapidly advancing in the fourth industrial revolution. A key marker for America’s dwindling infrastructure is the lack of clean and potable water for all communities in America. The Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Action Plan, part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, aims to give all Americans access to safe and clean drinking water. 

It is unfortunate that critics of the administration across the aisle have stooped to the level of personal mockery and juvenile ridicule of Biden’s stuttering, speech slurs and his minor accidents to challenge the administration. While the criticism of style over substance clearly indicates that his challengers have very little to oppose his policies, a large section of civil society getting lost in this charade could fail to realize that Biden’s legacy could be as profound as Roosevelt’s.   

Neoliberal economists and publications that initially unleashed a barrage of criticism toward Biden’s industrial policies have now acknowledged this initial success that has spurred over $200 billion in new investments across America. 

Furthermore, through increased commitment to Ukraine and by rejoining multilateral mechanisms such as the Paris Climate Accords, Biden has brought the U.S. back to the international stage.    

From reviving manufacturing competitiveness to addressing the environment and foreign policy challenges, the Biden administration has brought America back to business — or, to revise Trump’s slogan, has, “made America great again.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3966209-ironically-bidens-the-one-making...

Amazing what one can achieve if one isn't playing golf all day, sexually assaulting women, and pushing ex-wives down the stairs (allegedly).

lee wrote on Apr 29^th, 2023 at 5:00pm:


Obama experienced a global financial crisis, dear. And yet, he still saw less jobs move offshore than the following prez.

Quote:


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-10-22/supply-chains-latest-the-h...

Sleepy Joe is now seeing a revival of US manufacturing, following the green shoots of the Obama administration's economic recovery, the lull of the Trump shut-shop/trade war era and covid.

You're apolitical, Lee, so we'd expect you to welcome this news with open arms. You're only interested in facts, as are we.

Sleepy Joe would appear to be a quiet achiever in this area, but any increase in manufacturing will only be truly welcomed if accompanied with the real economic imperative of the current era: the transition to a clean, renewable economy.

greggerypeccary wrote on Apr 29^th, 2023 at 4:52pm:


True, but the real measure is legislated achievements and investment in infrastructure that brings growth.

The Trump administration saw corporate tax cuts frittered away on CEO bonuses and dividends for the mega rich, as expected. There were no infrastructure bills.

Presidents only administer congressional taxing and spending. Executive orders alone can't deliver macro change.

A case in point: The Wall. After shutting down government for two months to blackmail congress into funding his wall, Trump was left with the option of cutting military spending to erect 40 miles of new border fencing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46824649

Much of the funding was already in place before Trump came to power. In the end, after years of political theatre, Tweets, rally chants and exhausted staff hours and political capital, Trump came to the conclusion of what he was told by congress when he first entered office.

Border security requires a range of tools, from aerial and electronic surveillance to border patrols and law enforcement. Walls are ultimately useless as you can't see the other side. While useful in urban areas, steel fencing requires constant maintenance and is hardly impenetrable. The most easy way through is over, by way of a ladder.

Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill provides $550 billion for roads, bridges, rail, airports, broadband, public transit and, a pretty fundamental provision in developed economies, clean drinking water. As well as delivering essentials, these things add value to economies.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/politics/biden-infrastructure-law/index.html

Trump had popular support for the same bill in his first year. His staff debated what to do first, after Paul Ryan's tax cuts. Trump decided to repeal Obamacare instead. 

He failed. Trump vowed not to lose face again - until his scheme to blackmail congress and BUILD THE WALL, the longest government shutdown in US history, and all for nothing.

Biden, by contrast, is quietly getting on with the job, showing how governing is done. After four years of Trump, it's easy to forget what we take for granted in Australia and most developed countries - a functioning leadership, acting in the interest of citizens.

Ultimately, Biden is merely doing what presidents are paid to do.

Karnal wrote on Apr 29^th, 2023 at 6:57pm:


So tell me where I mentioned them.

And corruption is not legitimate? I haven't been keeping up with that. Please elucidate.

Karnal wrote on Apr 29^th, 2023 at 7:36pm:



So you are attempting to refute an argument I didn't make. You are sillier than I thought.

lee wrote on Apr 29^th, 2023 at 9:03pm:


Not refuting an argument one didn't make are you, Lee?

An electric fleet sounds like a marvellous idea. Why wouldn't a government want all their vehicles to run on batteries? You don't think they should subsidise cars to run on Saudi oil, do you, you silly old thing?

Tsk tsk tsk 

I think you'll find it's the GOP who're money hungry...



A much better ROI for the Democrats, who've long proved
to be better financial managers than the Republicans.  And
let's face it;  the failed former president was really nothing
more than a trumped-up (ouch!) TV games show host.  He
had—and still has—zero political expertise, and relied solely
on his father's inheritance to get where he is... or used to be.
After SIX bankruptcies it's obvious Trump couldn't organise
a root in a brothel LOL.

Whatever, I certainly have a lot more faith in Sleepy Joe than
I did in Draft-Dodging Donny—once a coward, always a coward.