The loss of middle class manufacturing jobs over the past 30 years has dramatically impacted employment in many industrial cities across the US. But the stories of loss, luckily, are starting to be overshadowed by the rise of manufacturing entrepreneurs. I think it is time to start being more optimistic about the long term potential of the US economy.
“Startups are beginning to transform manufacturing just as they transformed service industries like taxi-hailing and short-term room lets. New techniques such as 3D printing, combined with a rapid decline in the cost of computing power, are making it easier for small firms to compete with big ones. Crowdfunding sources such as Kickstarter are making it easier for them to raise capital. And big companies such as GE are trying to crowdsource innovation by providing small manufacturing firms with space and seed-money. Exponents of this ‘hardware renaissance’ frequently locate themselves in old industrial towns such as Pittsburgh and Detroit, in part because there is lots of cheap space available and in part because they can draw on established manufacturing skill,” from The Economist Magazine, May 5, 2016.
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